Enzo Maresca fumes after Manchester City’s 5-3 win over Sunderland

"Too many goals, too many goals! I prefer [to win] 3-5, much better," Enzo Maresca said after Manchester City beat Sunderland 5-3 at the Etihad Stadium. The scoreline gave City another win, but the manager spent much of his post-match comments on the goals they conceded rather than the five they scored.

Maresca’s problem with the game

Maresca was even more specific about what bothered him. "Two of the three goals we conceded were too easy; the second goal came from [Granit] Xhaka's quick free-kick and that cannot happen. The third goal came from another free-kick. Too easy, we conceded more chances, but we also scored five and could have scored probably two or three more," he said.

That is the sort of reaction you get from a manager who wants control first and spectacle second. City won the game, and Brian Brobbey's hat-trick made it a messier afternoon than they would have wanted, but Maresca kept coming back to the same point: free-kicks and soft concessions cannot be part of the routine.

City remain the only team in the top flight with a 100 per cent record after five matches, and Maresca has now joined a tiny group of managers to start a Premier League spell with five straight wins in charge of a new club. He still sounded more bothered by the gaps in his own team than encouraged by the perfect start.

City's start stays perfect

Maresca did allow that the team found a way through a difficult match. Speaking after the game, he said: "I am always concerned, always trying to see what we can do better. For sure, two of the three goals we conceded were too easy. The second coming from a quick [Granit] Xhaka free-kick and that cannot happen. The third goal comes from another free-kick, too easy in that way and we concede more chances but we scored five, created [more] and could score two or three more."

The result keeps Manchester City moving with five straight league wins, but the message from the touchline was clear enough. A 5-3 home win was not the kind of afternoon Maresca wanted to see repeated.