Manchester, England – Manchester City delivered a dominant performance at the Etihad Stadium, defeating Sunderland 3-0 and closing the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to just two points. The victory, achieved on Saturday, December 6, 2025, sees Manchester City climb to second in the league standings, intensifying the title race as the season progresses.
The match began with Manchester City asserting their control, maintaining possession and setting up camp in Sunderland's half. Sunderland, however, proved to be defensively organized, compressing the space and denying City's star striker, Erling Haaland, any clear opportunities in the early stages. Rayan Cherki was a constant threat, with his passes and crosses causing problems for the Sunderland defense. Despite City's dominance, Sunderland showed glimpses of attacking intent, with Le Fee testing the City defense with a low drive that went just wide.
The deadlock was broken in the 34th minute by Ruben Dias, who unleashed a stunning strike from 25 yards out, giving Manchester City a 1-0 lead. The goal injected momentum into City's play, and they quickly doubled their advantage four minutes later. Josko Gvardiol rose highest to meet Phil Foden's in-swinging corner, heading home to make it 2-0.
In the second half, Sunderland attempted to mount a comeback, with Wilson Isidor and Granit Xhaka both having chances to reduce the deficit. Xhaka was particularly unlucky, seeing his shot hit the post. However, Manchester City remained resolute, and in the 78th minute, they sealed the victory with a third goal. Cherki, who was a live-wire throughout the match, delivered an outrageous rabona cross for Phil Foden to head home, making it 3-0.
The match concluded on a sour note for Sunderland, as Luke O'Nien was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Matheus Nunes in the closing seconds. O'Nien will now miss Sunderland's upcoming Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle.
With this result, Manchester City now have 28 points from 14 games, while Arsenal sit at the top of the table with 33 points. Aston Villa are third with 30 points. Sunderland currently sit at 6th position. Manchester City's victory demonstrates their title credentials, while Sunderland will be disappointed with their performance following their recent draw against Liverpool.
Looking ahead, Manchester City face Real Madrid in a pivotal Champions League clash next week, while Sunderland prepare for their derby match against Newcastle.
