Man City Survive Brobbey Hat-Trick Scare to Win 5-3 Thriller

Eight goals. VAR drama. A striker hauling his side back into it three separate times. And Erling Haaland, inevitably, finishing the job in the 81st minute. This was not the routine Premier League afternoon Manchester City's W4 D0 L0 record suggested it would be — this was a genuine barnburner, and anyone who tuned in expecting a procession got something far more interesting.

City entered Sunday's match with 12 points from their opening four games, 8 goals scored and only 2 conceded. Sunderland arrived on 4 points, with a W1 D1 L2 record and a goal difference of minus two. On paper, a mismatch. But football is not played on paper, and Brian Brobbey made absolutely sure of that. The Sunderland striker scored in the 12th minute, the 33rd and the 59th — each time dragging his side back into a match that kept threatening to run away from them. Three goals from a centre-forward in a 5-3 defeat is a remarkable individual performance, and the less said about City's defending on those occasions, the better.

Enzo Fernández opened the scoring in the 9th minute with a stunning free kick — right footed, top right corner, the kind that settles nerves and sends a message. Brobbey levelled almost immediately, Rayan Cherki restored the lead at 29 minutes with a clinical finish from the centre of the box assisted by Antoine Semenyo, and then Brobbey equalised again before the half-hour was out, his second confirmed only after a VAR review. It was frantic, end-to-end stuff. Antoine Semenyo then gave City a 3-2 lead just before half-time, finishing from the centre of the box after Marc Guéhi picked him out following a corner — Guéhi, credit where it's due, carrying his attacking threat from set-pieces into yet another fixture. Semenyo made it four in the 57th minute, this time finishing from the left side of the box with his weaker foot, and that looked like the game done. Then Brobbey made it 4-3 in the 59th minute from close range, assisted by Nilson Angulo, and suddenly City were wobbling again.

Haaland arrived to end the debate. His close-range finish in the 81st minute, assisted by Josko Gvardiol and confirmed following a VAR review, made it 5-3 and that was that. Haaland now sits joint-top of the Premier League scoring charts alongside Liverpool's Alexander Isak on 4 goals from 5 appearances, and in a match where goals were flying in from everywhere, he delivered when it mattered most. Semenyo, meanwhile, was extraordinary across the afternoon — a goal and an assist in this game, adding to a season tally of 2 goals and 3 assists from 5 league appearances, and 8 key passes across the campaign. Cherki's contribution should not be overlooked either: 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 Premier League outings this season, with 10 key passes, marks him as one of the most productive attacking players in the division right now. Fantasy football managers who do not already own him need a very good reason why. For Sunderland, Brobbey's hat-trick effort — even in defeat — will give their fans something to hold onto. This match report will not be kind to their defensive record, a goal difference now stretched further to minus five across five games, but Brobbey was magnificent. Enzo Le Fée's through ball for the first goal was a lovely piece of work too, as his 7 key passes and 1 assist this season suggest a midfielder who can genuinely create at this level. Granit Xhaka leads Sunderland's key pass chart with 11 from 5 league games. City move to a perfect 5 from 5. Sunderland head home to regroup.

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