Story byNicholas MendolaSat, December 6, 2025 at 5:40 PM UTC·3 min readHe's sure to say it's 'so, so early" but Pep Guardiola's Manchester City players defied that hesitance with an opportunity-seizing 3-0 win over Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Second-place City are now two points back of Arsenal in early December and have a workable run of Festive Fixtures ahead — as do Arsenal. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE — Recap, video highlights | Cherki’s incredible rabona assistRuben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Phil Foden scored while Rayan Cherki amazed with some ball wizardry including a rabona assist on Foden’s marker. Guardiola said the play was fantastic but when pressed further he took the question in a different direction, nothing that Lionel Messi doesn't usually go for the audacious play.“I want him to make a good cross,” Guardiola said when asked if risky flair plays upset him. “If he doesn’t make a good cross, I don’t like it. He did it and it’s fine.