For 80 minutes, if plenty were perplexed by an outbreak of extraordinary entertainment, maybe no one was more confused than Erling Haaland. There had been seven goals, but he got none of them. A giant figure in the No 9 shirt scored a hat-trick, but it wasn’t him. By the end, there were two outcomes Haaland recognised only too well. Manchester City won and he had scored.

But they were the only normal elements of an astonishing afternoon. Enzo Maresca’s side extended their 100 per cent start, but in unusual fashion. “I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3,” said the Italian. He did not get his wish. He had predicted Sunderland would be City’s toughest match of the season so far; he was right in that part, at least.

“Sunderland [against] Arsenal last week was another crazy game,” noted Maresca. The Black Cats have put in colossal efforts against the two title favourites, in contrasting fashion, but with nothing to show for either whereas City are the big winners of this weekend at the summit. They and Arsenal both conceded three. The difference is that City scored five.

It took Haaland to put enough distance between themselves and Sunderland, a side who mounted not one comeback but a series. The first time Sunderland trailed, they levelled after three minutes, the second after four. Seven minutes after they went behind for a third time, Brian Brobbey’s deflected shot looped on to the bar. He instead completed the rarity of a hat-trick against City two minutes after they scored their fourth.

Ruben Dias was required to hook the ball off the line to prevent Sunderland from levelling it up at 4-4. Even at 5-3, Dan Ballard hit the post. Sunderland had 17 shots, eight on target and an xG of 4.25. “We probably deserved to score two or three more,” said manager Regis Le Bris.

All of which felt more incongruous given the reality that Sunderland had not scored more than once in a game so far this season, or that City had arrived on a run of four consecutive clean sheets.

But then, at kick-off, Antoine Semenyo had yet to score this season and he got two goals. Brobbey was still awaiting his first goal of the campaign and, within an hour, he had become the first player to get a Premier League hat-trick against City since Jamie Vardy six years ago; before that, no one had since Vardy again in 2016.

The Dutchman made history, and it counted for nothing. Not since Roque Santa Cruz in 2007 had anyone got a Premier League hat-trick in a losing cause. Perhaps it will be scant consolation to Sunderland, too, that they fashioned the game of the season so far. “A defeat but we are proud,” added Le Bris.

“We found a way to win,” said Maresca. Haaland was overshadowed, but added another distinction to a long list. He has now scored against all 25 clubs he has faced in the Premier League, though only after initial frustration. On the stroke of half-time, he had rolled a shot wide of an unguarded goal. When he converted Josko Gvardiol’s low centre, the flag was raised. Haaland, famously, is never offside, but VAR proved Gvardiol was not, either. For the second successive Sunday, a Haaland goal from a Gvardiol cross was given after the intervention of technology. This one is less likely to prompt an apology from Howard Webb.

Sunderland wanted a penalty for a possible handball by Elliot Anderson. City had other concerns. “Two of the three goals we conceded were too easy,” said Maresca. They did not defend like possible champions, though maybe that reflected the unique threat of the bruising Brobbey. They – Dias in particular – were battered and bullied by the target man, who was aided by the sleek creativity of Enzo Le Fee and the raw pace of Nilson Angulo.

Yet while Maresca has packed his side with centre-backs, City look fragile. Brobbey’s first goal of the afternoon and the campaign stemmed from Le Fee’s pass, enabling him to power between Ruben Dias and Matheus Nunes. His second came when he was given an open goal after Thomas Meunier sprang the offside trap to centre.

City’s back four were caught out by runners again for the third: Granit Xhaka chipping the ball over the defence, Angulo touching the ball to Brobbey for a tap-in. “I am really pleased for him,” said Le Bris. “We were not concerned he didn’t score in the first four games.”

Brobbey showed his potency and City displayed theirs. The scoring was begun by an audacious free kick from an acute angle, executed superbly by Enzo Fernandez. Their advantage was restored when Rayan Cherki drove in a shot after Iliman Ndiaye had won the ball in midfield.

Semenyo’s double could come with regrets for Sunderland: the first a shot drilled through the legs of Kevin Danso, the second when Cherki’s pass bounced off two Sunderland defenders, falling obligingly for the winger to finish.

He never scored in a loan spell for Sunderland. He got a double against them. It was that kind of day.

Sep 19, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after striking out during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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It took just one game for the New York Giants to look like a strong team under new coach John Harbaugh.

It was like the ugliness of going 7-27 over the past two seasons had evaporated with one 60-minute football game.

There were solid performances from the players and a stellar game plan from Harbaugh and staff. And there was toughness – something not always found in recent editions of the Giants.

The 28-20 victory over the NFC East Division foe Dallas Cowboys on the Sunday Night stage was a stellar opening to the Harbaugh era.

But as good as the Giants looked, never forget this: Winning your season opener isn’t a sign that a team has arrived. The season can go the other way.

Just ask the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars. Doug Marrone coached Jacksonville to a 27-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1. The Jaguars then lost all 15 remaining games.

You can trust a Harbaugh-coached team won’t bottom out that badly but New York has missed the playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons for a reason.

The simple explanation is the Giants haven’t been very good. Of course, the merry-go-round of coaches (four full-timers, two interims in 10 seasons) is not the type of things equated to winning teams.

So Harbaugh was hired and the mission is to make the Giants a perennial playoff team. Few people expect him to fall short.

Maybe it’s the fact he won 180 regular-season games, produced 11 seasons of 10 or more wins, made 12 playoff appearances and won a Super Bowl ring during his 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

That sounds like a Hall of Fame resume in progress. In fact, only five NFL coaches have 250 career victories. He’s 69 away from joining that club after the victory over Dallas.

Harbaugh teams are typically well-prepared and highly organized. He has a structure and has quickly changed New York’s culture before coaching his second game.

Tight end Isaiah Likely was one of four Ravens who followed Harbaugh to The Meadowlands. He made a stellar first impression by catching two touchdowns against the Cowboys.

Likely spent four seasons listening to Harbaugh’s speeches and watching his methods. He now sees that his new teammates are hearing the messages and buying in.

“I’d say it’s really his identity, his culture,” Likely told The New York Post. “Obviously with the Ravens, he had been there for so long, it feels like it was the Ravens identity. But coach Harbaugh was always the head coach.

“I feel like he instilled the Ravens mantra and everything. So when he got over here, I guess you can quote-unquote say it was the Ravens mantra, but it’s coach Harbaugh’s culture.”

Harbaugh and the Giants are preparing for their Week 2 game on Monday night at the Los Angeles Rams. It will be the team’s second straight prime-time contest, surely another element of the Harbaugh factor.

Why else would a team that went 4-13 last season be on national TV in their first two games of the following season?

Only the Harbaugh factor prompted that double-double.

For New York to be a threat in the NFC playoff competition, second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart needs to take a step forward, while second-year running back Cam Skattebo and third-year receiver Malik Nabers need to stay healthy.

Dart threw 15 touchdown passes against five interceptions last season so that ratio is promising. But there isn’t enough evidence that Dart will become a Top 10 quarterback this season, either.

Defensively, pass rusher Brian Burns was a force last season with 16.5 sacks so imagine the damage New York could do if second-year pro Abdul Carter emerges as a double-digit sack artist too.

New York defensive backs had just six interceptions last season and the Giants had only nine as a team. Surely, becoming more opportunistic – like many Harbaugh teams – is a priority.

The Giants lost nine straight games at one point last season. Anybody think that will ever happen with Harbaugh coaching the team?

Let’s watch and see how things unfold.

But this much is already clear: The New York Giants will no longer be laughingstocks.

NEW DELHI: Alan Curr has stopped counting how many hats he’s worn this week.

On Sunday morning, with a typhoon on the horizon, the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) COO pulled covers off the wicket. Later, he was putting up hospitality tents, checking security plans and helping transform a quaint cricket ground with 500 permanent seats into a venue worthy of hosting the reigning T20I world champions. By Tuesday, weather permitting, India will walk out against Japan in the country’s first-ever men’s senior international against a Full Member.

For Japanese cricket, getting here is success in itself and the scoreline almost secondary.

“A lot of success has almost already happened,” Curr says. “The fact that India have agreed to come, the fact that I’m sitting here talking to you guys, the fact that Japanese media are coming to learn about cricket — we’re having successes already,” he told select media.

Cricket is not new to Japan, having been introduced in the 1870s. But adaptation is a different story. Baseball, Football, Sumo Wrestling, Basketball, Golf, Tennis, Boxing are some sports that are bigger. India’s arrival represents cricket’s loudest introduction in recent memory.

More than just another T20I match

Japan has played in Under-19 World Cups, faced India and Pakistan at youth level and competed in the Asian Games with its women’s team. But this is different gravy.

“It certainly helps to say that the reigning world champions, the No. 1 ranked team in the world, are coming to Japan,” Curr says. “It’s piquing interest, but we’ve still got a long way to go before cricket breaks into the mainstream sporting audience.”

That mainstream audience is precisely what the JCA hopes to reach. The timing is ideal: cricket returns to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya just days later, allowing Japan to explain the sport through one of the country’s most recognisable sporting events.

“The Asian Games gives cricket legitimacy that it didn’t have before,” Curr says. “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

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Cricket’s quiet, but slow, growth in Japan

Behind the scenes, cricket has been expanding steadily in Japan. Registered players have risen from around 3,000 when Curr arrived in 2014 to 8,800 today. The Japan Cup — the T20 competition in the country — has grown from barely a dozen teams to more than 80, while the domestic 40-over league now spans four divisions.

“Kaizen is the word,” Curr says. “Continual improvement. That’s what we’re trying to do for the sport. But now and again there are moments like this where you can accelerate that,” he added.

Winning hearts and viewers, not necessarily the match

Japan harbour no illusions about the cricketing challenge ahead. “This India team is pretty good,” Curr said as a matter of fact. “It’s going to be an extremely difficult challenge for players who have never played at that level before.”

Instead, his measure of success is cultural.

He points to Japan’s women’s team, praised recently for staying back after their Asian Games fixture against India to thank supporters and mingle with fans. That’s the identity he wants the men’s side to showcase too.

“We want cricket to be played hard but also be accessible and friendly,” he says. “We want cricket to be fun.”

If thousands of first-time spectators leave Sano remembering more than just India’s star power, Japanese cricket may have achieved exactly what it came for.

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How India fixture came into being

The historic fixture was never part of Japan’s grand plan to expand the sport. It began with clay.

Eighteen months ago, the JCA set out to relay the turf square at Sano with help from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), whose groundsman travelled to Japan to identify suitable clay. The same surface was eventually used to build the Asian Games venue in Nagoya, prompting a simple thought: if Japan had international-quality wickets, why not invite the world’s best teams to use them?

Once the pitches were completed in March, Japan prepared a proposal and sent it to every Full Member ahead of the ICC conference in Edinburgh. Conversations with the BCCI began there — and, to Curr’s surprise, moved quickly.

“The BCCI were really keen to have an opportunity to train. It’s huge credit to them that they’re excited about coming here and building this relationship with the JCA,” he said.

The timing made sense. With the Asian Games beginning days later, India men’s squad would otherwise spend nearly a week waiting for their knockout fixture without access to proper cricket facilities. Sano offered both a training base and, eventually, a match. Again, with fingers crossed that the weather doesn’t play spoilsport.

India vs Japan T20I will be broadcast LIVE on FanCode on September 22 at 9:30 am IST.

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Manchester City fans on social media have called out Ruben Dias despite their 5-3 win over Sunderland on Sunday, September 20. The defender nearly scored an own goal and looked shaky in defence against Sunderland.

Enzo Fernandez gave the hosts an early lead after scoring a brilliant free kick from a difficult angle in the ninth minute. Three minutes later, Brian Brobbey finished from close range to level the scores.

Rayan Cherki produced a decent finish from inside the box to give Manchester City the lead in the 29th minute. Four minutes later, Brobbey scored to make the score 2-2.

In the 43rd minute, Antoine Semenyo rifled the ball into the back of the net to make the score 3-2, and Semenyo also extended the hosts’ lead before the hour mark. Brobbey went on to reduce Sunderland’s deficit, but another from Haaland sealed a 5-3 win for the hosts. Meanwhile, Dias’s performance was a subject of discussion after registering an abysmal shift in defense.

The defender failed to make a defensive interception, won three out of seven ground duels, and lost the ball four times (via Sofascore). Fans took to X to complain about Dias’s performance against Sunderland after the game, with one tweeting:

“Ruben Dias. Thank you. But it’s time to become an assistant coach.”

Other fans posted:

“It’s better to have three points more than less” – Enzo Maresca on Manchester City’s lead in the Premier League standings

Enzo Maresca revealed that it is better to be three points ahead of rival Premier League teams than to be three points behind in the title race. The Citizens manager added that it is too early to talk about the title race.

Maresca responded to a question regarding his side overtaking Arsenal in the Premier League standings following their 5-3 win over Sunderland. He said (via City Xtra on X):

“It’s better to have three points more than less – no doubt. But at the same time, we know that it’s quite early…”

Manchester City have registered a perfect start to their Premier League campaign after winning their first five games. The Citizens (15) are also three points ahead of second-placed Arsenal (12) in the standings.