{"id":776966,"date":"2026-09-20T16:40:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T16:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/776966\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T16:40:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T16:40:23","slug":"semenyo-helps-chaotic-manchester-city-beat-sunderland-despite-brobbey-hat-trick-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/776966\/","title":{"rendered":"Semenyo helps chaotic Manchester City beat Sunderland despite Brobbey hat-trick | Premier League"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester City sent a message to Arsenal with this chaotic victory that takes Enzo Maresca\u2019s team three points clear as leaders for the three-week international break.<\/p>\n

Until the Premier League<\/a> resumes on 10 October City can enjoy their view from the top while Mikel Arteta\u2019s champions have to stew following Saturday\u2019s 3-0 humbling at Brighton.<\/p>\n

Yet Maresca will review this game because City lacked control and may not have enjoyed a 5-3 win that featured two Antoine Semenyo strikes for them, a Brian Brobbey hat-trick for Sunderland<\/a>, with Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland the other scorers.<\/p>\n

Maresca\u2019s side are entertaining for the neutral and heart-palpitating for the manager. When the normally calm R\u00faben Dias hit the ball towards his goal and scrambled to hoof off the line, this was City in microcosm, versus R\u00e9gis Le Bris\u2019 potent visitors. The conclusion, though, from the season opening phase is that City will compete with the Gunners to the end of the title race – providing they become less fragile.<\/p>\n

Sunderland conceded first by allowing a break at corner that ended in Dayann Methalie chopping down Iliman Ndiaye. Next came a moment of high Fern\u00e1ndez skill from a free-kick along the right-hand edge of the box. City\u2019s No 17 asked Ndiaye to alter position in the area, then guided the ball straight home, on the near side, his instruction to the winger hoodwinking Robin Roefs, Sunderland\u2019s No 1, who ended up on his backside.<\/p>\n

It was a first goal for Fern\u00e1ndez goal since his equaliser in the World Cup semi-final for Argentina against England and was an excellent moment for City, only for them to fall asleep seconds later.<\/p>\n

Brian Brobbey gets to take the match ball home but the Sunderland striker looks dejected after the defeat at Manchester City Photograph: Matt West\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Enzo Le F\u00e9e is one of Sunderland\u2019s star acts and the pinpoint pass into Brobbey that split Dias and Matheus Nunes showed why. The No 9\u2019s first touch was smart, allowing him to then beat, with the outside of his right boot, the onrushing Gianluigi Donnarumma.<\/p>\n

Maresca had billed the contest as City\u2019s toughest so far and you saw now that this was not regulation respectful manager-speak. Le Bris\u2019 side pinged the ball about and were quick to fire it into the danger area. Yet, when feeling too comfortable while playing out from the back, City pounced again.<\/p>\n

Kevin Danso\u2019s loose pass from his area was nabbed by Ndiaye and the ball went instantly to Haaland near the penalty spot. Semenyo took over, tapped to Cherki and the Frenchman made space and threaded in.<\/p>\n

That made it 2-1 to City with half an hour gone. Three minutes later a breathless opening period had another twist. Le F\u00e9e slipped in Thomas Meunier, the wide right forward crossed, and Brobbey could not miss. Following a prolonged video assistant referee check Sunderland\u2019s second stood: Brobbey and Meunier being offside was the question and it appeared marginal.<\/p>\n

Again, Maresca\u2019s side suffered due to naivety. And, again, they roved upfield and breached their visitors\u2019 rearguard. This time Cherki hit Marc Gu\u00e9hi with a chip from the right that provoked a scramble in Sunderland\u2019s area. The ball came out to Semenyo who powered in to restore City\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n

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By the interval it should have been 4-2 but the normally lethal Haaland splayed wide after Ndiaye teed him up. The last bit of action had a mis-hit Brobbey effort nearly chipping Donnarumma who needed his 6ft 5in to tip over.<\/p>\n

Maresca surely wanted the match slowed down in the second half, with the ball at City feet. Yet still holes were punched in them as when Elliot Anderson was caught upfield and Noah Sadiki ran into space and ballooned over.<\/p>\n

Another goal looked to be needed because Sunderland were relentless. Cherki\u2019s curving pass right to Ndiaye created a chance for the fourth but the winger\u2019s touch was clumsy. Better was Semenyo\u2019s decisiveness that made it 4-2. Cherki\u2019s pass caused Mukiele a problem, the ball went to City\u2019s Frenchman, and he arrowed into the far right corner.<\/p>\n

Could City breathe? No was the answer. Anderson may have been lucky not to concede a penalty when the ball struck a hand in the area – another indication of City\u2019s scruffiness, and then Brobbey\u2019s third came. Granit Xhaka delivered from the right, Angulo helped the ball on, and the Dutchman converted.<\/p>\n

This was seven goals before the hour mark in what was a basketball-like affair packed with incident that, next, included Haaland\u2019s late fifth.<\/p>\n

J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku, on for Ndiaye, had Josko Gvardiol slaloming along the left, the defender\u2019s cross to the far post slid beyond Roefs by the Norwegian. Initially flagged as offside the VAR overturned the linesman\u2019s call and that was 5-3 \u2013 the end of the scoring on an afternoon that will not be forgotten soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester City sent a message to Arsenal with this chaotic victory that takes Enzo Maresca\u2019s team three points…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-776966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}