Manchester City just clawed their way to the top of the Premier League, but holy smokes, Brian Brobbey’s hat-trick for Sunderland made them earn every single second of that 5-3 thriller on Sunday. City moved ahead after Arsenal’s shock 3-0 loss at Brighton on Saturday, but they definitely made life harder than it needed to be, taking the lead three separate times at the Etihad and struggling to hold it.
That Wild Ride at the Etihad Was Pure Chaos
Enzo Fernandez kicked things off for City, netting his first goal since that massive £125 million move from Chelsea, hammering a free-kick past Robin Roefs at his near post. But Sunderland, fresh off their first European win in 53 years, showed no signs of slowing down. Brobbey slotted home Enzo Le Fee’s pass for the first of his incredible treble. Rayan Cherki brought City back in front with some quick feet and a slick finish, only for Brobbey to reply within four minutes at the end of a sweet Sunderland move. Antoine Semenyo smashed City back in front before halftime and then again thought he’d sealed it with another left-footed finish just before the hour mark. But Brobbey wasn’t done! He completed his hat-trick after Nilson Angulo beat Gianluigi Donnarumma to a ball over the top. Yeah, City’s keeper had some nervy moments, with Ruben Dias even clearing one off the line! Luckily, Erling Haaland finally jumped into the goalfest to lock in the three points, marking a huge personal milestone by scoring against every single side he’s faced in the Premier League. What a start for Enzo Maresca, who’s still perfect since taking over for Pep Guardiola. Still, even Maresca admitted, “To be honest, I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3 but I expected a very difficult game.” You can say that again, boss!
Manchester United Can’t Catch a Break, Teetering on the Brink
Meanwhile, over at Fulham, Manchester United is heading into the international break in an absolute mess. They’re just two points outside the relegation zone after another damaging defeat was barely salvaged with a 1-1 draw. It could have been way worse for the Red Devils, though, with Lisandro Martinez’s calamitous own goal putting Fulham ahead for their potential first league win of the season. Senne Lammens parried Calvin Bassey’s strike, and Martinez inadvertently turned it toward his own net. Thank goodness for Matheus Cunha, whose 89th-minute equalizer, deflected off David Affengruber, saved United’s blushes. They’ve only bagged five points from their opening five games, and let’s not forget they blew a 2-0 lead at home to Brighton in the League Cup in midweek, something they hadn’t done in 50 years! Manager Michael Carrick isn’t sugarcoating anything, saying, “We came to get the win of course, the way it panned out and the way we finished is the positive we take from it.” He followed that up with, “We don’t think things are perfect by any means. We need to win football matches.” No kidding. That draw was enough to push Fulham off the foot of the table, sending Tottenham to the very bottom.
Iraola’s Return and Liverpool’s Win
In other action, Liverpool picked up a solid 1-0 win on Andoni Iraola’s return to Bournemouth, with Alexander Isak grabbing the winner. Iraola, who famously led the Cherries to Europe for the first time before Liverpool snapped him up, got a warm reception from his old club.
So, as we head into this break, Manchester City is top despite some real scares, and Manchester United is staring down a massive challenge to turn their season around. It’s going to be a tense few weeks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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