Manchester City 3 Sunderland 0: Rayan Cherki dazzles as City put it in second gear | OneFootball

Manchester City 3 (Ruben Dias 31′, Josko Gvardiol 35′, Phil Foden 65′)

Sunderland 0

Manchester City have won 3-nil today at the Etihad Stadium against Sunderland. Pep Guardiola’s side put in their most complete performance for a while to beat a team that had the potential to cause them headaches.

Ahead of kickoff, Pep Guardiola made one change to the starting lineup that beat Fulham 5-4 at Craven Cottage. Rayan Cherki replaced Tijjani Reijnders in City’s starting lineup as the French international was rewarded for his critical cameo performance in City’s tense win.

First half.

Manchester City began the game brightly with sustained spells of possession in the opening five minutes. They forced Sunderland to drop but didn’t create any real openings to begin the game. There was an intent in Manchester City’s play to start the match. Sunderland had set out their stall early to remain tight defensively and try and break with pace when the opportunity arose.

Manchester City’s first shot of note came in the 11th minute. City enjoyed a good spell of possession and they passed their way into the Sunderland area. Rayan Cherki picked out Bernardo Silva just inside the penalty area and Manchester City’s captain curled an effort just over the left-hand top corner of Robin Roefs’ goal.

Sunderland had their first shot of the game in the 16th minute. Noah Sadiki drove through midfield and picked out Enzo Le Fée on Sunderland’s left-hand side. Le Fée unleashed a powerful shot at the City goal from just outside the area which went just wide of the post with Gianluigi Donnarumma at full stretch. It was a promising move by Régis Le Bris’ side and showed what threat they possess in their ranks.

Come the 26th minute, Manchester City were having trouble breaking down a well-organised Sunderland defence. Manchester City’s play in the final third looked too congested with too many players having drifted centrally. There was also no movement from the City players nor any pace to their possession play.

RUBEN DIAS DOES HIS BEST VINCENT KOMPANY IMPRESSION TO GIVE MANCHESTER CITY THE LEAD!!!!!

After a sustained spell of possession, Manchester City would take the lead in the 31st minute. City had a good spell of possession but were stuck trying to play around a packed Sunderland defence. From the left wing, Jeremy Doku played a ball back to Rayan Cherki on the edge of the Sunderland penalty area. Cherki played a simple pass across to Ruben Dias who was in space around 30 yards from goal. Dias unleashed a powerful drive that swerved and beat Robin Roefs with a shot that flew into the top right-hand corner. Dias’ shot may have taken a slight deflection but it was a tremendous goal to break open a tightly contested match.

Josko Gvardiol headed Manchester City into a 2-nil lead four minutes later.

Four minutes later, Manchester City would take a 2-nil lead. Pep Guardiola’s side finally scored a goal from a corner as Josko Gvardiol got on the end of a sublime Phil Foden corner to head home at the back post to beat Robin Roefs to make it 2-nil City. It was a simple goal, but one City needed to show their threat from corners.

Josko Gvardiol’s header would be the final significant moment of the first half. Manchester City would take a deserved 2-nil lead into the interval and they had controlled the match so far. Pep Guardiola’s side had dropped Sunderland for large portions of the first half and hadn’t allowed the hosts an opportunity to break with pace. City had to keep their concentration in the second half to avoid the costly lapses that had plagued its previous two games.

Second half.

Manchester City began the second half full of intent to put the game to bed. In the 51st minute, Jeremy Doku hit the post with a curled effort from the edge of the area after cutting inside from the left wing. Phil Foden’s goal-bound effort to tap in on the follow-up was blocked by the Sunderland defence.

Gianluigi Donnarumma would make his first save of the game in the 53rd minute. Ruben Dias inexplicably gave the ball away on the edge of his own area which played in Wilson Isidor. Isidor was clean through on goal but his shot was saved by Donnarumma.

Granit Xhaka would smack a powerful volley into the post a minute later. A corner came in from Sunderland’s left-hand side and it floated its way to Granit Xhaka at the backpost. Xhaka controlled the ball superbly well and he had time to unleash a powerful strike at goal which hit the post and was cleared to safety by the Manchester City defence.

Rayan Cherki created a golden opportunity for Erling Haaland to make it 3-nil for City in the 58th minute. Bernardo Silva slipped in Cherki on the right wing and Cherki bamboozled three Sunderland defenders with two pieces of utter magic. He played a simple ball to Haaland who was unmarked near the penalty spot. But Haaland’s goal-bound volley was blocked on the goal line by the Sunderland defence.

Phil Foden heads City into a 3-nil lead after Rayan Cherki provides the assist of the season.

Phil Foden would give Manchester City a 3-nil lead with a quality header in the 65th minute. Foden beat Robin Roefs with a quality header but the goal came from a Rayan Cherki assist which will be replayed for years to come. Cherki was picked out in acres of space on the right-hand side and he stood up the Sunderland left-back with a superb piece of skill. Cherki then produced a ridiculous rabona cross that found Foden who headed home to give City a 3-nil lead. Phil Foden’s reaction to Cherki’s assist said it all. It was a stunning piece of play from the French international.

Tijjani Reijnders should have made it 4-nil to City in the 74th minute. Cherki was again found in acres of space on the right wing and he played in a quality cross. Cherki’s ball evaded Omar Marmoush at the near post but found Reijnders at the back post. Unfortunately, Reijnders scuffed his shot and it limped its way just wide of the back post with Robin Roefs scrambling.

Robin Roefs would make a fine save a minute later to deny Rayan Cherki a well-deserved goal. A sweeping City counterattack saw Cherki drive at the Sunderland defence in acres of space. The French international worked himself into the penalty area and his ability to stop on a dime gave him an opportunity to shoot. But Cherki’s goal-bound effort with his right foot was saved by Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs.

Sunderland were reduced to ten-men in the 94th minute when Luke O’Nien saw red for a rash challenge on Matheus Nunes. That would be the final significant moment of the match. Pep Guardiola’s side claimed a 3-nil victory and picked up a valuable three points to take full advantage of Arsenal’s earlier defeat to Aston Villa.

First thoughts at the final whistle.

Manchester City saw off a tough Sunderland side today at the Etihad with an impressive 3-nil win. Pep Guardiola’s controlled the match outside of a fifteen minute spell after halftime to pick up a massive three points. City dominated possession and contained the threat Sunderland posed for the majority of today’s match. It was City’s most impressive performance for some time and sets them up well for what comes next.

All told, City did exactly what they needed to do and today’s result and performance is exactly what they needed to launch into what lies ahead.