Manchester City head into the extended international break three points clear at the top of the Premier League after edging a completely bonkers, gloriously chaotic eight-goal thriller against Sunderland, winning 5-3.
Enzo Maresca's side knew that any positive result would see them open up a gap on nearest rivals Arsenal after Mikel Arteta's side slumped to on Saturday. But Maresca surely did not plan to do it in the chaotic manner that transpired, with City trading blows with Sunderland as though it were a training match.
Enzo Fernandez's clever free-kick put City ahead inside nine minutes, but that was merely the beginning of the pandemonium. Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo also found the net in a first half that produced five goals, with Sunderland's undefendable striker Brian Brobbey grabbing two.
City's performance was littered with mistakes, particularly defensively, as Brobbey bullied Ruben Dias and completed a remarkable 33-minute hat-trick after Semenyo had netted his second of the afternoon to make it 4-2 in favour of the hosts.
Erling Haaland had the final say, breaking his Sunderland duck to complete the Premier League set, having now found the net against all 25 opponents he has faced in the English top flight. Just another astonishing subplot from a ridiculous afternoon.
As a whole, the game could not have been further removed from the picture of control so often associated with Pep Guardiola's City. Out of possession, Maresca's blueprint left them alarmingly open, with Sunderland needing little invitation to exploit the gaps. Brobbey accumulated a personal expected goals value greater than every Premier League team this weekend, bar his own.
Sunderland might have left the Etihad empty handed but do so with plenty of credit after an attacking display that arguably outshone City's, registering nine shots on target. City's players sank to their knees at the final whistle, a clear indication of just how close they came to letting victory slip in the to and fro of such an intense battle.
"I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3," Maresca concluded with a smile. "But I knew how difficult it would be."
9: GOAL! Fernandez opens scoring with a cheeky free-kick from a tight angle that beat Robin Roefs at his near post.
12: GOAL! Brobbey scores his first of the afternoon from Enzo Le Fee's sumptuous through ball.
29: GOAL! Cherki makes it 2-1 after Sunderland were caught overplaying around the back.
33: GOAL! Le Fee links with Thomas Meunier to hand Brobbey a tap-in - which survives a VAR review for offside.
43: GOAL! Semenyo thunders a superb third for Man City after Marc Guehi does well to keep the ball alive in the box.
57: GOAL! Semenyo puts Man City 4-2 up with an emphatic finish into the far corner.
59: GOAL! Brobbey completes his hat-trick from Nilson Angulo's cross to pull the score back to 4-3.
70: CLEARANCE! Dias clears the ball miraculously off the line after Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to claim a cross.
82: GOAL! Haaland completes the scoring after being teed up by Josko Gvardiol.
Man City head coach Enzo Maresca:
"A very good team, strong, dangerous, but again, we found a way to win the game. In this moment, that is important.
"I said in the press conference before the game that I expect a very tough game and we also conceded a few of the goals too easy, but we just started eight weeks ago. We've played all different games so we've learnt a lot.
"We've played seven official games and they've all been different, which is good because we learn from all of them.
"There were too many goals. I prefer to win 1-0, it's much better!"
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris:
"We didn't compromise our identity. We're really proud to play our football and we went toe to toe with one of the best sides in Europe.
"We created many chances and every small mistake gets punished at that level. This is the reality of the Premier League and we're here to learn.
"The team is really resilient and the belief is high about our qualities, the way we can hurt the opponent. It's not a surprise, but we are frustrated because we came here with the belief it was possible to win."
On Brobbey's hat-trick: "It's positive because it's impossible to tell the story differently, but it's clear for us that he's a good striker, he's getting better with every game, and his mentality is superb. It was just a question of time."
