Manchester City vs Ipswich Review
Ipswich suffered a 4-1 loss to Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, as this marked the first time since the 2006/07 season that they began a league campaign with two consecutive defeats. Manchester City, who have been champions for the past four seasons, were up against last season’s Championship runners-up, making them the clear favorites on paper.
However, in a surprising turn of events, Ipswich took an early lead at the Etihad when new signing Sammie Szmodics broke through and scored by slipping the ball between Ederson’s legs. Unfortunately for Ipswich, their excitement was short-lived as Leif Davis brought down Savinho in the box, allowing Erling Haaland to convert the penalty and quickly equalize.
Ipswich later they found themselves down by two goals. Arijanet Muric lost possession near his own area, allowing Kevin De Bruyne to score into an empty net for City’s second goal. Just seconds later, De Bruyne assisted Erling Haaland, who rounded Muric to net his second goal of the match, leaving Kieran McKenna’s team stunned. In reality, McKenna’s squad was fortunate not to concede a fourth, as both Rico Lewis and De Bruyne hit the crossbar.
The second half was relatively uneventful compared to the first, which was somewhat of a relief for Ipswich, helping them avoid further embarrassment. By that time, the crowd was eagerly anticipating the introduction of İlkay Gündoğan for his second debut with Manchester City. While they waited, the hosts nearly scored a fourth, but Muric made a spectacular save to deny Haaland a hat-trick. Eventually, Pep Guardiola brought Gündoğan on with 20 minutes left, prompting the City fans to rise to their feet in excitement.
Overall, it was a humbling afternoon for Ipswich, who have faced a tough start in the Premier League with their initial matches against Liverpool and City. The hosts had a fitting conclusion to their day when Haaland secured the match ball in the final moments, marking City’s 18th victory in their last 19 Premier League games against teams that have just been promoted.
