Manchester City edge Sunderland in eight-goal thriller to stay perfect

Manchester City will take a three-point lead into the Premier League’s first international break after Antoine Semenyo’s double helped them beat Sunderland 5-3 in an outstanding contest at the Etihad Stadium.

Sunderland, inspired by Brian Brobbey’s hat-trick, twice fought back to level but Erling Haaland’s late goal finally settled a match that remained in the balance until the closing stages.

The victory preserves Manchester City’s 100% league record and leaves them at the top of the table after a pulsating afternoon in the sunshine.

Sunderland started brightly but fell behind in the ninth minute when Enzo Fernandez curled a free-kick beyond goalkeeper Robin Roefs. It was Fernandez’s first goal since his record-equalling £125m transfer from Chelsea.

The visitors responded almost immediately. Three minutes later, Brobbey controlled a pass from Enzo Le Fee before placing his finish beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma to make it 1-1.

Manchester City regained the lead in the 29th minute. Rayan Cherki reacted quickest inside the penalty area when the ball dropped to him and poked it into the net.

Brobbey continued to pose a threat and restored parity before half-time, converting into an empty net after being teed up by Thomas Meunier.

City went into the interval in front again when Semenyo finished emphatically beyond Roefs at the end of a breathless first half.

The forward extended the hosts’ advantage in the 57th minute, scoring from close range after Sunderland failed to clear the danger.

Brobbey completes Sunderland hat-trick

Sunderland refused to surrender and Brobbey completed his hat-trick when he supplied the final touch to a shot from Nilson Angulo.

That made Brobbey the first Sunderland player to score a Premier League hat-trick since Jermaine Defoe in 2016.

Only determined defending prevented Sunderland from drawing level for a third time, before Haaland finally found the net to put the result beyond the visitors.

Despite the defeat, Sunderland’s attacking display made for one of the most entertaining matches of the season so far.

Elsewhere, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola returned to his former club Bournemouth and recorded only his second Premier League victory since taking charge at Anfield. Alexander Isak scored in the second half to secure a 1-0 win.

Leeds United remain unbeaten but missed the opportunity to move into the top four after being held to a goalless draw at home by Crystal Palace.

Manchester United will try to recover from a poor start to the campaign when they visit Fulham later on Sunday. Fulham are aiming to move off the bottom of the table.