After Arsenal’s defeat on Saturday, the incentive was there for Manchester City to steal an early march in the title race, and they took full advantage of that inside the first 10 minutes.
A moment of invention from Enzo Fernández proved to be all City needed to nose in front, as his free-kick from an acute angle caught Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs off guard at his near post and snuck in.
The visitors were undeterred by their early blow and hit straight back through Brian Brobbey, who was freed in behind by an inch-perfect Enzo Le Fée pass and made no mistake in prodding an equaliser into the corner.
Not deterred, Enzo Maresca’s men reestablished their lead midway through the first half after some loose Sunderland play in their own defensive third culminated in Rayan Cherki working a yard inside the area and firing an effort low into the bottom of the corner.
But once again, City were unable to keep the Black Cats at bay for long, as stand-in winger Thomas Meunier ghosted in behind the Cityzens defence and retained his composure to square for Brobbey to tap his second goal of the day into an empty net.
True to form, the game swung back in City's favour before half-time, as after a bout of penalty box pinball, Antoine Semenyo reacted quickest to hammer the hosts back in front, and they would’ve taken a two-goal lead into the break had Erling Haaland not missed an open goal after Iliman Ndiaye left Roefs on the floor with some dazzling footwork.
Sunderland weren’t to be let off the hook twice and did find themselves two behind soon after the restart when Semenyo arrowed an effort into the far corner.
But the Black Cats simply wouldn’t lie down and hit back instantly when Brobbey tapped home to complete his hat-trick – the first Sunderland player to get one in the PL since Jermain Defoe in 2016.
He would also eventually become only the fifth different player to lose after scoring a PL hat-trick, but it wasn’t for Sunderland’s want of trying, and with City always looking defensively suspect, a Gianluigi Donnarumma error was so nearly punished when he was beaten in the air by Dan Ballard, whose header was cleared off the line by Rúben Dias.
Maresca’s men made life a little easier for themselves in the final 10 minutes when Haaland added a fifth against the only side he’d never scored against in the PL prior to today.
Victory for City moves them three points clear at the PL summit going into the three-week international break, while defeat for Sunderland was a bit of a reality check after Wednesday’s Europa League victory over AZ Alkmaar.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland)