Manchester City beat Sunderland 5-3 to move clear at Premier League summit

Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League after an eight-goal thriller against Sunderland at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The hosts secured a fifth consecutive victory, maintaining their perfect start to the season and taking their points tally to 15.

Manchester City also benefited from Arsenal’s surprise 3-0 defeat by Brighton, which allowed them to take sole possession of first place.

The match saw both sides trade goals throughout an entertaining contest, with Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey scoring a hat-trick despite ending the game on the losing side.

Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring for Manchester City in the ninth minute, but Sunderland responded three minutes later when Brobbey found the net to make it 1-1.

Rayan Cherki restored the home side’s advantage in the 29th minute, only for Brobbey to score again four minutes later and level the match for a second time.

Manchester City regained the lead shortly before half-time. Antoine Semenyo put them 3-2 ahead in the 43rd minute, giving the hosts the advantage at the interval.

The goals continued after the break, with Semenyo scoring his second of the game in the 57th minute to make it 4-2.

Brobbey completed his hat-trick two minutes later, pulling Sunderland back to within one goal and setting up a tense finish at Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City finally settled the contest in the 81st minute when Norway striker Erling Haaland scored their fifth goal. The victory gave Pep Guardiola’s side three more points in the Premier League title race.

Brobbey makes Sunderland history

Although Sunderland left Manchester without a point, Brobbey reached two notable milestones during the match.

Statistics outlet Squawka reported that he became only the sixth player in Sunderland’s history to score a Premier League hat-trick. He is also the club’s first player to achieve the feat since Jermain Defoe, who scored three goals in January 2016.

Brobbey also became only the fourth player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick against a team that began the match at the top of the table, according to Opta.

The players to previously accomplish that feat were Robbie Fowler, who scored three times against Aston Villa in November 1998; Dirk Kuyt, who netted a hat-trick against Manchester United in March 2011; and Romelu Lukaku, who scored three against Manchester United in May 2013.

Brobbey’s remarkable individual performance was not enough to earn Sunderland anything from the match, as Manchester City held on for victory and continued their flawless opening to the Premier League season.