Manchester City 3-2 Ipswich: Haaland double keeps the perfect start alive

Manchester City beat Ipswich Town 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, Erling Haaland’s double proving decisive on an afternoon when the champions were made to work far harder than the scoreline suggested. City’s seventh win in seven leaves them top of the Premier League on 21 points, six clear of Arsenal, while Ipswich stay 12th on 7 after a late flourish made the finish uncomfortable.

How the match unfolded

Phil Foden opened the scoring on 19 minutes, turning in Jeremy Doku’s cut-back after City’s early pressure finally told. Ipswich’s reply was immediate and clinical: Daizen Maeda finished from Antoine Ouattara’s pass two minutes later to silence the stadium and briefly swing the mood of the whole afternoon.

Haaland restored the lead on 34 minutes from Mateo Kovacic’s threaded pass, and the same combination of physicality and precision defined City’s play throughout. By the hour the game looked settled, and when Haaland swept in his second on 69 minutes, assisted by Iliman Ndiaye, City appeared home and dry at 3-1.

The numbers underlined City’s control even when the score tightened. They posted 3.53 expected goals to Ipswich’s 1.66, enjoyed 70 percent of possession and out-shot the visitors 19 to 8, with six big chances created to Ipswich’s three. Pep Guardiola’s side completed 673 passes at 90 percent accuracy, squeezing the game until the final ten minutes.

What the result means

Those final minutes arrived with a sting. Ipswich won a penalty in the 90th minute and substitute Zak Flemming converted to set up a nervy finish, and the away end’s roar made plain that a point in Manchester was still in reach. City saw out the added time, but the late goal was a reminder of how quickly a controlled afternoon can tilt at this level.

The table shows what the win protects: City are the only side in the division with a perfect record, 19 goals scored and a six-point cushion over Arsenal, who have a game in hand. For Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich, a fourth defeat in seven sits alongside encouraging signs — they have scored in five of their last six, and the late goal here will travel home better than the mid-game capitulations of earlier rounds.

City now turn to a midweek programme with their lead intact and Haaland’s form accelerating; for Ipswich, the trip ends in defeat but with evidence that they can still hurt the very best sides in the closing stages.

Match data and statistics from the OneLightScore platform. Cover image: Manchester City FC club crest, OneLightScore platform library. Report by Callum Hendry for OneLightScore.