Man City vs Sunderland - EPL title race wide open as Man City close gap on Arsenal with win over Black Cats

The Black Cats have given many big teams problems this season, the most recent being a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.

The Citizens, who are chasing the EPL title, needed a win to close the gap on the leaders, Arsenal, after they lost to Aston Villa earlier in the day.

They were able to easily get past Sunderland with an impressive 3-0 victory to reduce the point gap to two on the table.

Manchester City made one change from their incredible 5-4 win at Fulham on Tuesday. Rayan Cherki returns to the side in place of Tijjani Reijnders, who dropped to the bench, as reported by BBC.

Sunderland made three changes following their credible draw at champions Liverpool during the week. Lutsharel Geertruida, Bertrand Traore and Wilson Isidor come into the side, with Reinildo, Brian Brobbey and the scorer at Anfield, Chemsdine Talbi, dropping out.

City started the game brightly and got two goals in the first 35 minutes of the first half from Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias.

In the second half, Sunderland took the game to Man City and almost scored to get back in the game but hit the woodwork. 

The Citizens held their ground to stop the visitor, with the third goal coming from Phil Foden, killing any hope of a comeback.

Following the win, Man City reduced the gap on the Premier League table to two points as the hectic festive games starts to kick in.