Following their 2-1 loss at Arsenal on Monday, Manchester City bounced back in a big way with a 4-1 victory over Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day.
City had the likes of Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero on the bench following their recent run with injuries this season. Wilfried Bony started up top at striker, with Raheem Sterling starting in the left-side of midfield after falling to the bench against Arsenal earlier in the week.
Sterling gave the hosts an early 1-0 lead in the match with a header in the 12th minute following a Kevin De Bruyne cross into the box. Quickly after, Yaya Toure gave the hosts a 2-0 lead after his left-footed shot beat Sunderland keeper Vito Mannone in the 17th minute. Midfielder David Silva was credited with the assist on the goal.
Sunderland tried to bounce back quickly with chances taken by Steven Fletcher, Yann M’Vila, and Danny Graham but all were not capitalized.
In the 22th minute, Wilfried Bony powered a header past Mannone following a De Bruyne set-piece cross to give Manchester City a 3-0 lead which they would take into the halftime break.
De Bruyne capped the City scoring in the 54th minute with a right-footed shot that found the bottom-right-hand corner to give City a 4-0 lead.
Sunderland forward Fabio Borini gave the visiting fans a consolation goal in the 59th minute after his left-footed shot beat Joe Hart in the City net to make it a 4-1 game.
Vincent Kompany was brought on in the 62nd minute to get some game-time after a lengthy break out of the lineup due to a calf injury. Unfortunately, Kompany’s return only lasted nine minutes after he seemed to re-injure his calf during his time on the pitch.
Wilfried Bony would’ve given the hosts a 5-1 lead after he stepped up to the penalty spot in the 69th minute, but his shot soared over the net.
At the final whistle, Manchester City had themselves a convincing 4-1 win at home that would keep them in third place in the Barclays Premier League table. Manuel Pellergini’s squad were able to have 66% of the possession, and create 19 total chances during Saturday’s match.
According to The Guardian, Manuel Pellergini was disappointed after Vincent Kompany suffered an injury on Saturday saying “it was not the best news” once he found out Kompany had re-injured his calf.
It is a big loss for City who have had defensive struggles without their skipper in the squad this season. However, Manchester City will have to move on with their game preparations without Kompany as they travel to top-of-the-table Leicester City on Tuesday.
Look for Manchester City to give Leicester a tough game at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday in a battle of two of the top-three teams in the BPL table.