Manchester City wrapped up their third win in the space of a week with a sharp 3-0 victory over Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium, just as we predicted in the pre-match report, although we expected Sunderland to at least get a goal, but it was just dominance from the home team.
Softfootball understands that City have now won 12 of their last 13 Premier League matches at home, including seven straight, and this one felt fairly routine once they found their rhythm. With Arsenal losing earlier in the day to an inspired Aston Villa team, City knew that three points would cut the gap to just two, adding a bit more urgency to the afternoon.
City controlled most of the first half, which probably wasn’t a shock considering Sunderland have never beaten them at the Etihad in the Premier League era. Even so, Pep Guardiola’s side took a little while to break through a stubborn Sunderland back line.
Rayan Cherki flashed a teasing ball across goal that looked perfect for Erling Haaland, but the striker couldn’t quite reach it, which felt unusual considering how clinical he normally is.
Eventually, City found their breakthrough, scoring twice in four minutes around the half-hour mark. Rúben Dias opened the scoring with a strike that honestly felt a bit Kompany-like, smashing a 30-yard rocket right into the top corner.
The crowd was still buzzing when Joško Gvardiol made it 2-0, rising above the Sunderland defence and powering in a header from Phil Foden’s corner. Those goals pushed City’s record to a league-high 18 first-half goals this season.
Sunderland looked livelier after the break and came close to pulling one back. Wilson Isidor stole the ball from Dias but was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma, who sprinted off his line to block the effort.
A few minutes later, Granit Xhaka rattled the woodwork as the visitors briefly threatened to make a game of it.
Any hope of a comeback faded on 65 minutes, though, when Foden scored City’s third. Cherki produced a gorgeous rabona cross that left everyone a bit stunned, and Foden nodded it in from close range.
Manchester City in a video posted by the team’s official X account, showed the joy and how much the victory meant to the players.
Watch the video below:
Cherki almost added a goal himself soon after, but Robin Roefs reacted sharply to keep him out.
City saw out the rest of the match with little stress, looking close to their dominant best again. They’ll need that consistency if they want to keep pace in the title race. Sunderland, meanwhile, slip to seventh, but Régis Le Bris will quickly shift focus to next week’s massive Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle.
