City's fifth consecutive victory

Manchester City continued their perfect start to the new Premier League season with a thrilling 5-3 victory over visitors Sunderland in the fifth round on Monday. Capitalizing on Arsenal’s first defeat of the season, which came on Saturday against Brighton (0-3), City moved top of the table, three points clear of the Gunners, ahead of the international break.

Against a side they had not lost to in the Premier League since November 2013, City struggled defensively but were always able to respond offensively. Enzo Maresca’s team, who face a tough test upon the league’s return against Liverpool on the 11th of next month, led 3-2 at halftime. The match featured a standout performance from Sunderland’s Dutch striker Bryan Mbeumo, who scored a hat-trick in the 12th, 33rd, and 59th minutes. For City, Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo scored twice (43rd and 57th) and provided the assist for French midfielder Rénier’s third goal of the season (29th).

The opening goal of the match came for City through Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández, who opened his account with his new side from a brilliant free-kick in the 9th minute. The fifth goal for the hosts, and the eighth of the match overall, was scored by Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who raised his tally to five league goals this season with a finish assisted by Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol (81st minute), securing a seventh consecutive win for Maresca’s side across all competitions since the start of the season.

With his goal on Monday, Haaland has now scored against all 25 teams he has faced in the Premier League in a run that began a little over four years ago.

In other results, Spanish manager Andoni Iraola enjoyed a successful return to his former club Bournemouth, whom he managed from 2023 until the end of last season, guiding Liverpool to a 1-0 victory. Swedish striker Alexander Isak scored the winner in the 57th minute, taking his personal tally to four goals this season. With their second win, three draws, and no defeats, Liverpool moved up to sixth place, behind fifth-placed Leeds United, who drew 0-0 with visitors Crystal Palace, and fourth-placed Brentford.

After drawing 2-2 at Everton and losing 0-1 at home to city rivals City in the previous two rounds, as well as falling to Brighton 2-3 in the League Cup, Manchester United were very close to defeat at Fulham before salvaging a 1-1 draw in the last minute of normal time. Manager Michael Carrick’s side avoided a third league loss thanks to Brazilian midfielder Matheus Cunha, who equalized with a long-range strike in the 89th minute, after going behind in the 63rd minute to an own goal. Argentine defender Lisandro Martínez had deflected a cross from Nigerian winger Calvin Bassey into his own net, despite Belgian goalkeeper Siniša Mihanović being in the way.

With their second draw, United moved up to five points, while Fulham remained on just two points.