Semenyo shines as Manchester City edge Sunderland in seven-goal thriller

Antoine Semenyo scored twice and provided an assist as Manchester City beat Sunderland in a 5-3 Premier League contest at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The match produced a series of impressive finishes, with Sunderland repeatedly responding to City’s attempts to take control. Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring after catching Robin Roefs out with a well-placed free-kick into the far corner.

Sunderland were level three minutes later through Brobbey, who had yet to score this season despite being called up by the Netherlands. The forward showed composure after skilfully beating two defenders before placing his finish beyond the goalkeeper.

Rayan Cherki restored City’s lead after half an hour, but Brobbey struck again to ensure Sunderland were not behind for long. The former Ajax player completed a flowing move involving Enzo Le Fee and Thomas Meunier by tapping the ball into an empty net to make it 2-2.

Sunderland could not prevent City from going ahead for a third time before the interval. Semenyo reacted first to a loose ball and finished with an opportunistic volley, giving Enzo Maresca’s unbeaten side a 3-2 lead at half-time.

Semenyo added another goal shortly after the restart, taking advantage of a lack of communication in the Sunderland defence. However, Brobbey completed his hat-trick during the same passage of play, finishing a quick counter-attack to reduce the deficit to 4-3 and keep Sunderland in the contest.

The Sunderland striker then had the chance to score a fourth, but his effort was blocked by a City defender. Sunderland were also handed another opportunity when Gianluigi Donnarumma made an error, although Ruben Dias produced a decisive intervention to prevent an equaliser.

Erling Haaland settled the match late on, securing all three points for the home side.

The result keeps City unbeaten in the Premier League and moves them to the top of the table after Arsenal suffered a surprising defeat the previous day. Sunderland remain on four points.