Special Dias strike kickstarts comprehensive victory over Sunderland

In partnership with

Manchester City F.C.

·6 December 2025

Special Dias strike kickstarts comprehensive victory over Sunderland

Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden were the scorers as City beat high-flying Sunderland 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Dias’ spectacular hit from 25 yards – just his sixth City goal - broke the deadlock deep in the first half before Gvardiol nodded home a second just a few minutes later.

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Foden’s fifth goal in a week made the points safe just after the hour mark, nodding in a magnificent Rayan Cherki rabona cross.

The result marks our seventh successive Premier League home win and moves us within two points of leaders Arsenal after 15 games.

The game in 250 words

Sunderland, arriving in Manchester with an impressive record against the Premier League’s best, set out their stall to frustrate City from the first minute, lining up with a back five and midfield four.

With the Black Cats sitting deep and defending stubbornly, the opener came from the unlikeliest of sources just over half an hour in.

Stepping out of defence, Ruben Dias collected the ball 25 yards out and lined up a ferocious strike into the top corner for a finish the most seasoned striker would have been proud of.

The advantage was doubled just a few minutes later, with Dias’ more prolific defensive partner Josko Gvardiol rising highest to nod home a Phil Foden corner.

The visitors were buoyed by the break, with Wilson Isidor pouncing on a lapse in concentration before seeing his effort stopped by a strong Donnarumma arm and Granit Xhaka hitting low and hard against the inside of the post less than 10 minutes in.

City weathered the storm and had chances of our own, with Jeremy Doku hitting the post and Erling Haaland having a close-range hook headed off the line.

The Blues then made it three in stunning fashion, with Phil Foden heading in off the bar from an eye-catching rabona cross by Rayan Cherki after the No.10 had turned his marker inside out.

Cherki came within a whisker of his first home Premier League goal, forcing Robin Roefs into a diving save low to his right.

With the points already secure, the day ended with a red card for Sunderland substitute Luke O’Nien after a late challenge on Matheus Nunes seconds before the final whistle.

Teams

CITY XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol (Ake 69), O’Reilly, Nico, Bernardo (C) (Lewis 82), Foden (Reijnders 69), Cherki (Savinho 81), Doku, Haaland (Marmoush 69)

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Khusanov, Bobb

SUNDERLAND XI: Roefs, Mukiele, Geertruida, Ballard, Alderete, Hume (O’Nien 88), Sadiki (Adingra 72), Xhaka (C) (Mundle 72), Traore (Talbi 56), Le Fee, Isidor (Brobbey 56)

Subs: Patterson, Neil, Rigg, Mayenda

Star man

Rayan Cherki – The 22-year-old is looking more at home in the Premier League with almost every week that passes.

His linkup play with Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden has sparkled in recent home victories over Bournemouth and Liverpool, but this was perhaps his finest individual showing yet.

The standout moment came in the build up to our third, skipping past his man, cutting back and flicking a rabona cross onto the head of Foden stood six yards out.

Foden ran straight to the assist maker, in awe of what he had seen.

The No.10 was withdrawn a few minutes later to a standing ovation that suggests the Etihad faithful is hungry for more.

Goals from everywhere

There has been plenty of talk early in the season that City have been too reliant on the goals of Erling Haaland.

While there’s no side in the world that wouldn’t lean on the prolific Norwegian in the final third, we’ve found the knack in recent weeks of contributing from all areas of the pitch.

Dias and Gvardiol have both now scored twice in the Premier League this term, with 10 City players in total finding the back of the net 15 games in.

We won’t come to expect hits like this one from Dias every week, but they’re always nice against a defence as stubborn as Sunderland’s.

Pep Guardiola reaction

“Today maybe has been one of the best performances of the season for 95 minutes.

“We did good things against Fulham in the first half and stopped in the second half. We talked about that and the reason why. It’s not about specific movements defensively or offensively.

“Today, we played for 90 minutes against a team who have done well so far against top teams. We concede one chance today but apart from that it was a good performance.

“In the Premier League we had the feeling that Arsenal are going to drop few points and if you want to be there you have to win games and that comes from way you perform.”

Cherki reaction

“It was a great game. We don’t want to concede goals and today we didn’t. Perfect day.

“I want to give the pleasure to others. I want to play for Phil [Foden], for Omar [Marmoush] and for Erling [Haaland].”

On his assist: “It’s my quality I want to try all the time when I have the ball. Today it was good because it was a good pass for Phil.”

What it means

The victory takes us to 31 points from our first 15 games of the 2025/26 Premier League season. We’re second in the table, just two points behind leaders Arsenal.

It also continues our excellent recent home form in the Premier League, winning our last seven assignments since losing to Spurs in August.

View full table

What’s next

The Blues go to Real Madrid for a 20:00 (UK) kick-off in the Champions League on Wednesday 10 December. With 10 points from our first five games, we’ll be looking for a positive result to keep tabs on a top eight finish.

Our next Premier League outing is a trip to Crystal Palace at 14:00 (UK) on Sunday 14 December.