Goals from Nikita Parris, Steph Houghton and Toni Duggan earned the three points at the Hetton Centre, lifting the Blues to the top of Group Two with their seventh successive win.
Gemma Wilson had halved the deficit for the hosts before the half-hour mark but the visitors held firm to clinch a victory over the high-flying Black Cats.
The triumph puts Nick Cushing’s side back top of the group, after Liverpool had temporarily leapt to the summit with a 1-0 win over Durham earlier in the day.
South Shields-born defender mcfc.co.uk after the game, she declared: “It was a really good win.
“It’s always nice to get the three points and for me to come back up north and have done it in front of my family was pleasing too.
“We played the ball around well and I don’t think Sunderland could handle us. We just played our game and moved the ball about - that helped - and they just couldn’t touch us.
“They grew a bit in confidence after their goal but we battled that out and stuck to our game plan.
“It’s good that we’ve taken the pressure off a little bit by winning all of our games in Group Two so far but we always want to keep pushing and we want to keep that 100% record going.
“We have to keep our foot on the pedal and take each game as it comes. Our record speaks for itself at the moment but we hold very high standards and we just want to keep going.”
With both sides locked on six points in the group before the game and with Liverpool having earned maximum points from their three cup fixtures, it was clear a win in this encounter would be precious.
In that knowledge, manager Cushing fielded the same XI for the fourth consecutive game, as the Blues looked to continue their incredible winning streak.
Sunderland – arguably the surprise package of the season, having taken the FA Women’s Super League by storm since their promotion – were unbeaten in seven games themselves and, as City knew from their league meeting earlier in the season, would be a tough proposition.
Brimming with confidence though, City started brightly and broke the deadlock after just 11 minutes.
Duggan had already been denied by a fine Wilson block, and Victoria Williams had cleared off the line as Parris was about to pounce, before the latter did open the scoring, converting the rebound after Isobel Christiansen’s effort was saved by Rachael Laws.
Four minutes later, it was 2-0 and it was the skipper who doubled the Blues’ advantage against her former side, rising to head home Christiansen’s cross on her old stomping ground.
Having earned a comfortable lead so early on, the visitors looked to be in control but the hosts clawed themselves back into the game on 23 minutes as Wilson headed beyond Karen Bardsley to make it 2-1.
The away side responded well and almost restored their two-goal advantage just after the half-hour mark – but Parris was unable to connect with Christiansen’s cross from six yards out.
At the other end, the in-form Beth Mead found herself one-on-one with Bardsley but pulled her shot wide just before half-time, ensuring City headed into the break with the lead.
The Blues regained their composure after the restart and pressed for a third.
Duggan, Christiansen, Daphne Corboz and substitute Krystle Johnston all saw efforts fly narrowly wide before Parris was denied her second as Laws did well to save with her legs.
From then on, chances were few and far between but there was an added positive for the visitors as Keira Walsh was introduced in the second half, making her return from injury.
In the final minutes, Sunderland rallied and piled the pressure on the Blues. Emma Kelly tried her luck from distance but Bardsley saved comfortably as City fought to preserve their lead.
The visitors then sought to extend it, as Laws denied Parris once again and the post prevented Duggan from netting her seventh goal in as many games – but she wouldn’t have to wait long to score it.
In the dying seconds, the Blues were awarded a penalty when Parris was upended by Wilson and Duggan made no mistake with the spot-kick to seal a fantastic win for the Continental Cup holders.
Next up for Cushing’s side is a trip to Notts County Ladies in the FA WSL on Sunday 23 August at 2pm.
