Seven From Seven and Top of the League: Is Enzo Maresca’s Man City Already a Title Threat?

Seven wins from seven. Top of the Premier League. Arsenal already three points back. If you'd offered Man City fans that start after Pep Guardiola walked out the door, they'd have taken it without blinking.

A 5-3 win over Sunderland on Sunday, coming 24 hours after Arsenal were dismantled 3-0 by Brighton, was the kind of weekend that gets a fan base genuinely excited. City didn't just win. They went top. And the way they did it, playing through chaos, grinding out a messy thriller rather than a tidy demolition, tells us something important about where this side is headed.

Maresca Is Doing Something Most Managers Can't

Replacing a generational manager is one of the hardest jobs in football. Ask David Moyes. Ask anyone who followed Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. The weight of expectation, the comparison, the microscope. Enzo Maresca walked into exactly that situation at Man City and has responded by winning every single competitive game he's been in charge of.

He's now the sixth Premier League manager to win his first five league games at a club, joining a list that includes Carlo Ancelotti, Maurizio Sarri and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The sixth name on that list? Pep Guardiola, when he took charge of City in 2016.

That's not a coincidence. That's a manager who knows what he's doing.

The Community Shield defeat to Arsenal in August had some sharpening their knives. It feels a long time ago now.

The Sunderland Win Raises Questions Too

Let's be honest, that wasn't a comfortable 5-3. Sunderland's xG of 4.25 was the highest ever recorded by a visiting side at the Etihad in a Premier League game. Brian Brobbey scored a hat-trick and still ended up on the losing side. Ruben Dias was given a genuine workout and didn't always come out on top.

Maresca himself admitted two of the three goals were too easy to give away. A free-kick taken quickly and a sloppy set-piece situation. At this level, against Liverpool or Arsenal, those mistakes get punished every time.

Man City can't keep playing end-to-end football and expect to stay unbeaten. The attacking quality is clearly there. Antoine Semenyo with two goals and an assist, Rayan Cherki looking lively, Enzo Fernandez finally getting off the mark. Erling Haaland, naturally, scored and has now netted against all 25 Premier League clubs he's faced. The goals will keep coming.

The defensive shape is the work still to do.

What the Liverpool Trip Tells Us About the Title Race

Man City return from the international break with a trip to Anfield on 11 October. Liverpool are also unbeaten. It's the kind of fixture that sorts out contenders from pretenders early in the season.

From a betting perspective, this is the game we've been circling since the fixtures came out. A Man City win at Anfield would send a serious statement to everyone in the division. Arsenal can no longer claim the title favourite tag after that Brighton result, and if City go to Liverpool and win, the odds are going to shift dramatically in their favour for the season outright.

If the defensive vulnerabilities we saw against Sunderland show up at Anfield, though, Liverpool have more than enough to exploit them. Slot's side press high, move quickly in transition and are lethal from set pieces. Exactly the kind of game that exposed City on Sunday.

Our leaning is that this one ends level. Both sides have too much to lose to be reckless, and Maresca will set up far more cautiously on the road than he did at home to a Championship side. A draw at Anfield for Man City would still be a strong result, and at current prices, the draw looks like the value call.

Our Verdict on Man City's Season So Far

Maresca has done brilliantly. Seven games, seven wins, top of the table, a settled squad and new signings already contributing. The early signs are that Man City aren't going to slip quietly into mid-table while they adjust to life after Guardiola.

The title race is genuinely open right now. Arsenal have stumbled. City have momentum. Liverpool are lurking. The next three weeks of international football are going to feel like a long wait.

When the Premier League resumes, Man City versus Liverpool at Anfield is the first real test of whether this is a title-winning side or a very good one still learning on the job. We think Maresca's men are good enough to take something from it. Proving that will be a different matter entirely.