Man City win 5-3 as Brobbey’s hat-trick still leaves Sunderland empty-handed

Score three goals, take home the match ball, and still lose. Brian Brobbey experienced football's particularly cruel version of a productive day as Sunderland fell 5-3 at Manchester City.

The September 20 match at the Etihad Stadium delivered eight goals and very little peace for either defence. City's victory made it five wins from five league games under Enzo Maresca and moved them three points clear at the top, as Associated Press reported.

Every lead seemed to come with a warning

Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring for City, but Brobbey equalised. Rayan Cherki put the hosts ahead again, and Brobbey supplied another answer. Anyone settling down for a routine home win had clearly picked the wrong afternoon.

Antoine Semenyo then gave City a 3-2 halftime lead. He scored again after the break, before Brobbey completed his hat-trick to bring Sunderland back within one goal. Erling Haaland eventually added City's fifth.

The Premier League's official account notes that City had never previously taken the lead three times in the first half of one of their Premier League matches. Brobbey became Sunderland's first Premier League hat-trick scorer since Jermain Defoe in 2016.

For Brobbey, the goals were a major individual achievement. For Sunderland, the result meant that each recovery had still left another problem to solve. Getting back into a match is exhausting when the other side keeps finding a fresh route through.

The manager would prefer something quieter

Fans watching for entertainment got excellent value. Maresca's assessment was less relaxed. In Reuters reporting, the City manager said he would rather win 1-0 and felt two of the goals his team conceded had come too easily.

The numbers support his concern about control. Sunderland produced 17 shots to City's 16 and had nine on target, compared with six for the hosts. Daniel Ballard also hit the post late on.

Those chances matter even after a win. Scoring five can cover a lot of defensive mistakes on the scoreboard, but it does not make the mistakes disappear when the coaching staff watch the match again.

A perfect record with work attached

City head into the international break with every available league point collected. That is an excellent position after five matches, especially for a manager beginning his first season in charge.

Yet this game also showed why points and control are different things. City had enough attacking quality to win. Sunderland had enough threat to keep the result uncomfortable for much of the afternoon. The winning streak survives, and the defensive homework travels with it.