Arsenal are still two points ahead of Manchester City. The Skyblues took advantage of the Gunners’ 1-2 defeat at Aston Villa with a 3-0 win over promoted Sunderland, with Rayan Cherki in particular turning up the heat.
It was a tempting offer that leaders Arsenal had made to pursuers Manchester City. The Londoners’ late 1-2 defeat at Aston Villa allowed Pep Guardiola’s men to close the gap on the Gunners to two points – but they faced a task that should not be underestimated: newly promoted Sunderland, who had already caused Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool problems this season.
Defensive double strike breaks the underdog
Against the Black Cats, the Skyblues were hoping for a less spectacular result than their recent 5-4 win over Fulham. With Cherki replacing Reijnders, ManCity conceded the first notable shot of the game to Sunderland’s Le Fee (16th minute), but otherwise controlled the game at will. The only problem was that they couldn’t create any real chances against the visitors’ deep block. Foden made a perfect cross shortly after Le Fee’s attempt, but there was no one there to receive it (18′).
Despite the three changes that birthday boy Regis Le Bris had made since the 1-1 draw with Liverpool, Sunderland’s defense was solid. At least until the 30-minute mark. But then the newly promoted side’s defense gave Ruben Dias too much space, and his deflected shot flew unstoppably into the net (31′), before Gvardiol was left unmarked shortly afterwards. The Croatian rose powerfully and headed home to make it 2-0 at half-time (35′).
Exchange of blows after the break
Anyone who assumed that the sky blue possession machine would play down its lead after the break was proven wrong: ManCity engaged in a wild exchange of blows after the restart, revealing defensive vulnerabilities.
But first things first: Doku and Foden had the first big chances after the break. The Belgian’s curling shot hit the post, and the Englishman’s follow-up shot was saved by Ballard, who came to the rescue of his beaten keeper (52′). It was a missed opportunity that almost came back to haunt the favorites. However, Isidor failed to capitalize on a terrible loss of possession by Ruben Dias, with Donnarumma alert to the danger (54′), before Xhaka hit the post from the resulting corner (55′).
And what about record-breaker Haaland, who had scored his 100th league goal on the Thames as the fastest player in history? He was denied his 101st goal. After some strong dribbling from Cherkis, Geertruida cleared the Norwegian’s volley off the line with his head, beating his own keeper (59′).
Cherki opens the magic box
Foden also scored with a header shortly afterwards. The Englishman placed the ball so precisely in the top right corner that not even a sheet of paper could fit between the ball and the aluminum—he made it 3-0 via the underside of the crossbar (65′). However, the real highlight of this dream goal was Cherkis’ assist, who had set it up with a rabona cross from behind his standing leg with his left foot.
The Frenchman, who was later named Man of the Match, was in good form and virtually unstoppable during this phase of the game. However, Reijnders’ failed first-time shot (74′) denied him a second assist, before Roefs prevented the Lyon native from getting on the scoresheet himself (76′). The last appearance of the technical wizard, who watched the final minutes of the game and thus a final attempt by Doku (90′) and a red card against O’Nien (90’+5) from the bench.
While ManCity’s dress rehearsal for Wednesday evening’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid (9 p.m.) was a success, the 3-0 win also means an important point gain in the title race. The Skyblues are now two points behind leaders Arsenal.
