Man City player ratings vs Sunderland with two 8/10s as Rayan Cherki stars

Manchester City beat Sunderland 3-0 in the Premier League with goals from Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden

Manchester City are two points off Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table after a convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland. The Black Cats had lost just three matches on their return to the top flight but were comfortably second-best at the Etihad.

Ruben Dias made the important breakthrough for City on the half-hour mark, lashing home from outside the area with a shot that was deflected in. Minutes later, Josko Gvardiol made it 2-0 as he headed home Phil Foden's corner.

City have had some difficult defending leads in the second half over the last week and Sunderland set about testing them again after the break, but this time City were equal to it. Rayan Cherki had already teased and tormented the visitors on a number of occasions when he beautifully squared the ball up with a rabona for Foden to head in a third. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.

Donnarumma: Some suspect kicking that needlessly lost City the ball but he was strong when he needed to be to protect his goal. 6

Nunes: Got forward well but his last action was weirdly heavy. A solid shift defensively though. 7

Dias: Earned the acclaim with a shot that had shade of Kompany against Leicester, but an awful error to nearly let Sunderland back into it. 7

Gvardiol: A well-taken goal from a corner, although he was booked just after that for a rash challenge. 7

O'Reilly: Mostly good, relishing the physical duels he inevitably got into and was endless with his running. 7

Gonzalez: An important clearance from the box in the second half when Xhaka's shot came off the post, and he read a lot of the game well. 7

Silva: Much more control than he had managed at Fulham and worked with Nunes on the right wing. 7

Foden: Continued his hot streak in front of goal and earned some rest ahead of Real Madrid. 8

Cherki: What an assist. No, not the one for Dias but they all count and the skill for Foden's goal was sensational. 8

Doku: Played in moments in the game rather than being constantly involved but he was a threat. 7

Haaland: Tightly marked for much of the contest but had a few half-chances that he could have taken. 6

Substitutes

Marmoush (for Haaland, 70) Had a couple of sniffs at goal but couldn't find the net. 6

Reijnders (for Foden, 70) Had his traditional effort that goes close, this time from a Cherki ball. 6

Ake (for Gvardiol, 70) No dramas with the game won. 6

Savinho (for Cherki, 82) No time

Lewis (for Silva, 82) No time

Not used: Trafford, Khusanov, Ait-Nouri, Bobb,