Man City Smash Sunderland with Dias’ Thunderbolt as Winning Streak Hits Three — Gap to Arsenal Cut to Just Two Points

Saturday, December 6, 2025

Man City Cruise Past Sunderland 3–0 as Title Race Tightens to Just Two Points Behind Arsenal

Manchester City made it three Premier League wins in a row after a dominant 3–0 victory over high-flying Sunderland on Saturday, narrowing the gap to leaders Arsenal to just two points.

City entered Matchweek 15 on unstable footing despite back-to-back wins.
They nearly threw away a two-goal lead against Leeds before snatching a late 3–2 victory, and their 5–4 win over Fulham saw another comfortable lead evaporate into a tense finish. With in-form newly promoted Sunderland sitting 6th, this fixture carried major weight for both sides: City in their pursuit of Arsenal, and Sunderland in their push toward the European spots.

City Control Early Before Dias Breaks the Deadlock

From kickoff, Pep Guardiola’s side dictated possession and pinned Sunderland deep in their own half. The visitors defended bravely, blocking lanes and preventing City from creating clear openings.

But in the 31st minute the breakthrough arrived. After a flowing passing sequence around the box, Rúben Dias unleashed a thunderous right-footed strike from distance, smashing the ball into the top corner to make it 1–0.

Just four minutes later, City doubled their lead. Phil Foden’s curling corner found Joško Gvardiol, who rose highest and powered a header past the keeper to send the champions into halftime with a comfortable 2–0 advantage.

Foden Seals It After Brilliant Cherki Rabona Assist

The second half saw more of the same: City creating constant pressure, while Sunderland sought chances on the counter. The decisive blow came in the 65th minute when Rayan Cherki dribbled inside the box and delivered a stunning rabona cross.
Foden met it perfectly, nodding home City’s third to put the match out of reach.

City closed out the game professionally to earn a commanding 3–0 win—one of their most complete performances of the season.

What’s Next?

• Manchester City travel to Spain on December 10 for a crucial Champions League league-phase clash with Real Madrid.
• Sunderland return home on December 14 for a heated derby matchup against Newcastle United.

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Score
Manchester City 3–0 Sunderland

Scores
1–0 | 31’ Rúben Dias (MCI)
2–0 | 35’ Joško Gvardiol (MCI)
3–0 | 65’ Phil Foden (MCI)

“Social Media Reactions”

City Fans

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IronVista07
That strike from Ruben was an absolute rocket.

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HarborPulse91
Here we go! Nico with a perfect finish!

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MetroFalcon12
Ruben delivers again! What a moment.

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SilverHollowEdge
Honestly, Ruben feels like captain material. Gives me vintage Kompany vibes.

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DustlineOrbit
Took a deflection, but still a solid goal in the end.

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WanderNode44
No one reacted at first because nobody thought it was going in. The delayed cheer cracked me up.

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CrimsonVane88
Gvardiol joins the party too!

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NeonFrostRiver
And another blast from Joško! Love to see it.

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SoftApexDrift
Beautiful stuff all around.

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CrimsonVane88
It’s turning into a center-back scoring festival today.

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QuietForge98
Gotta love when the defenders start chipping in with goals.

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HarborPulse91
Did we suddenly become good at set pieces or what?

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SlateWingRider
Super efficient scoring today. No wasted chances.

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SilverHollowEdge
Still, conceding four last match wasn’t great. We’ve got to stay sharp.

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MetroFalcon12
This is where it gets tricky. Recent games have followed the same pattern.

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MetroFalcon12
Sunderland will push hard in the second half, so we need to be ready to hit them on the counter. Haaland should finally get some looks too.

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BrightEcho73
Haaland has zero shots, but if we’re winning, that’s fine by me.

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SlipstreamCoral
He disappears in possession-heavy matches sometimes.

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EchoRanger51
Careful now—the defensive wobble and “Savinho time” might be coming.

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HarborPulse91
Huge save from Don. That was close.

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DustlineOrbit
Ruben, my guy… come on.

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BrightEcho73
Haaland’s making more impact defensively than in attack today.

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WanderNode44
We’re letting them pick up loose balls again. Looks just like last match’s bad spell.

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StoneHarborRise
They’re letting Sunderland win every loose ball again. This is exactly how the last match unraveled.

　↳ IronCliffMotion
　I know, right? Hard to believe they’re repeating the same mistake.

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VelvetRidge87
Foden looks unstoppable right now.

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ChromeField92
This duo is getting ridiculous—in the best way.

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HarborPulse77
Cherki is on another level tonight.

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CrimsonVane88
Foden strikes again! Love to see it.

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EchoRanger51
Foden really looks back to his best. Couldn’t be happier.

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SilverHollowEdge
What a wild delivery from Cherki. That technique is unreal.

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IronVista07
Haven’t seen a rabona like that in ages.

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SilverHollowEdge
Huge moment during a tough spell. Credit to Haaland too for choosing the right option instead of forcing it to Doku.

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CrimsonVane88
Cherki is absolutely buzzing out there.

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EchoRanger51
Lainders… yeah, that was not it.

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WanderNode44
Cherki was trying clever one-twos and heel touches since the first half—he’s been testing their backline all match.

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SoftApexDrift
Great win overall. What’s the update on Núñez?

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CrimsonVane88
No complaints today. Perfect performance.

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SilverHollowEdge
That early rocket from Ruben really set the tone.

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FrostlineOrbit12
Clean sheet feels amazing. Cherki’s rabona cracked me up too.

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EchoRanger51
Malmoos looked completely off tonight, though that’s partly because Pep barely plays him.

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IronCliffMotion
Savinho struggled, and Malmoos too—pretty rough technically. Nico sent them two great balls and nothing came from it.

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HarborGleam42
Malmoos was coming off an injury, so it’s hard to judge him too harshly.

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RustlineEcho77
Rewatching Foden’s goal and he looks more excited about Cherki’s rabona than his own finish. Cracked me up.

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SkyboundDelta14
Savinho had a really rough cameo for the few minutes he played.

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CobaltMesa31
Team looks good, but against physical sides away from home this midfield might get overrun.
Would love someone like Guimarães or Tonali next to Foden.
Honestly hope they go for Anderson in January—he seems to rate City.

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IronWave909
Pep apparently wasn’t thrilled with that rabona from Cherki.

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SlateHarbor55
You shouldn’t shut down a player’s creativity. Football is entertainment—moments like that make the match fun.

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NeonRidge08
Pep prefers the simple option, sure. So maybe going direct a bit more wouldn’t hurt.

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DustlinePulse12
Pep’s comments on Cherki and Savinho felt more like him pushing back on the reporter.
He even praised Cherki later in the same conference.
I also thought Cherki helped calm things down when he came on vs Fulham, and Pep clearly noticed too.

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MarbleShift23
If Cherki annoys Pep too much, he might end up benched like Malmoos. Would be sad if he never tries a rabona again.

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FrostWingAero
Funny how City’s official X account is calling Cherki’s rabona “pure art” while everyone debates it.