A City Fan’s Perspective: Not a blowout, but convincing!

Defense

Although the defense kept a clean sheet, Sunderland did share a fair bit of pressure. Bacary Sagna didn’t have much of a job at the right-back position, and John Stones never made any noticeable mistakes. That should be considered a solid performance for City's biggest summer signing.

Aleksandar Kolarov is not a center-back. He is not as good of a defender as Nicolas Otamendi, and he works much better in a left-back role. Although Kolarov has solid passing and attacking ability, he doesn’t work well with Pep Guardiola and his pass-back play style as a center-back.

Gaël Clichy’s return to the lineup was a pleasant surprise. He was energetic, quick, and intercepted a lot of threatening passes. He showed talent of his younger days, and hopefully he can maintain it.

Midfield

As Kevin De Bruyne sat on the bench, City were left without their main creator, but David Silva stepped up to fill his role in exquisite fashion.

Silva has become one of the most underrated players in the Premier League, because his stats don’t often show his impact on the pitch, but his creation ability and passing are just world class.

He and Leroy Sané teamed up often, almost scoring in the first half and converting for City’s second goal. Raheem Sterling remained quiet for this match, as the Sunderland defense managed to shut his creative play down.

Fernandinho looks much more confident and comfortable in his role in the holding midfield, and Yaya Touré continues to show why he deserves his starting role in the team.

Attack

Sergio Agüero is on fire, and he managed to end up on the scoresheet again after Sterling’s deflected cross went straight to him. He tapped it past Jordan Pickford, and his knack for scoring goals is unbelievable.

Agüero struggled a little bit throughout the match, but he still scored and continues his hot streak. Up next there's a match against Stoke City at home, and Agüero will look to play better and score once again for Manchester City.