The match between Sunderland and Manchester City brought together two completely different realities of the Premier League. On one side, Sunderland — the true “Mirassol” of English football this season, a team that has been the biggest surprise of the campaign. On the other, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, a shark in full pursuit of the top spot.
Sunderland came into this game on a three-match unbeaten run, with two draws and a statement win in the Tyne–Wear derby against Newcastle. An impressive campaign that had already seen them reach fourth place around the tenth matchday and, heading into this fixture, sitting in seventh. A win would have taken them to 31 points and up to fifth place. Interestingly, Wilson Isidor, Newcastle’s top scorer in the Premier League, started the match on the bench. Even more surprising is the fact that Sunderland had conceded only one more goal than Manchester City themselves in this Premier League season.
On City’s side, we were talking about a team on a run of nine consecutive victories, looking for another three points to move just two behind Arsenal, who had already played this round. Guardiola once again trusted the most technically gifted partnership in the Premier League, Foden and Cherki, two players tasked with tormenting any defense. Up front, Haaland — City’s and the league’s top scorer — had 19 goals, more than entire teams like Wolves or Nottingham Forest, and just one fewer than Everton, Burnley, and Sunderland themselves. Cherki, meanwhile, led the assists chart with seven, level with Bruno Fernandes. In the last meeting between the sides, City had won 0–2, with goals from Aguero and Leroy Sané, and my prediction pointed to another 2–0 win for the Citizens.
The first half began with an early scare in the third minute, when Aké felt his knee and Gvardiol even started warming up, but the Dutch defender was able to continue. Five minutes in, City did find the net through Bernardo Silva, after a cross from Cherki and a flick from Haaland, but the move was ruled out for offside. The script seemed obvious: City dominating possession, Sunderland waiting for a mistake to break on the counter. The big question was whether Sunderland’s physical and well-organized defense could hold off City’s star-studded attack.
And the truth is that Sunderland were having surprisingly little trouble playing through City’s first line of pressure. In the 18th minute, Mukiele launched a long ball, Rúben Dias lost the physical duel with Brobbey, and Donnarumma was forced into action after a good move from the striker, even if the finish could have been better. City were taking risks and struggling to stop Sunderland’s counterattacks, while Sunderland also showed effectiveness when pressing, something that became clear around the 22-minute mark.
After 25 minutes, Haaland was completely under control, tightly marked by an aggressive, physical defense that made a point of imposing itself. Up until the 35th minute, Sunderland were executing their game plan better than City were executing theirs, defending well and causing more problems, while City moved the ball around a lot but without much purpose. Haaland’s first real chance only came in the 36th minute, when he found himself alone in the box but hit a weak shot straight at the goalkeeper. Even so, Cherki’s individual quality continued to stand out, with impressive skill and pace that made dribbling look effortless. In stoppage time, Hume had a good headed chance but sent it over the bar. At the break, Sunderland had caused more problems for City than the other way around.
The second half started with more initiative from Manchester City. Right away, in the 46th minute, Cherki delivered the ball near the six-yard box and Savinho, with little space, shot over. Two minutes later, Foden played Savinho through on the run, but the finish was once again poor. In the 54th minute, Donnarumma was called into action again with a solid save. Haaland remained unrecognizable and, in the 60th minute, produced a completely misplaced pass that summed up his night. At 65 minutes, Rodri crossed into the box and Gvardiol arrived off balance, forcing Roefs into a fingertip save. The game became more open, much more end-to-end than the first half, which had long spells of attack versus defense. Doku’s introduction in the 70th minute changed the game, adding imbalance, dribbling, and aggression, putting Mukiele under serious pressure. Shortly after, in the 74th minute, Gvardiol threatened again with a shot almost with his back to goal, which went very close to the post.
In the final minutes, the game tightened up again. City took control of possession, pinning Sunderland back with a deep defensive line and everyone behind the ball, once again creating an attack-versus-defense scenario. The match grew increasingly physical and intense. In the 86th minute, a mistake by Aké almost proved fatal, and near the end, in the 88th minute, Gvardiol wasted a great chance by trying to do too much when he should have hit it first time. In stoppage time, at 90+4, Reijnders still had a weak shot that could have been decisive, but the scoreline remained unchanged.
Post-match
All the favoritism was with Man City, there’s no escaping that. Even with Sunderland having a Premier League season well above expectations, this was one of those matches where City always start as the natural favorite. And even so, it was anything but easy. Sunderland showed why they are one of the biggest surprises of the Premier League and of European football this season. They defended well, were physical, played out of pressure intelligently, and for long stretches caused more problems for City than the other way around. Haaland was kept quiet, City had possession, but lacked clarity, lacked that well-executed moment of individual brilliance. City pushed harder in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. The draw is fair. Sunderland come out stronger and continue to prove that their position is no accident. They played without fear of the shark.