Manchester City still have not dropped a point. A 3-2 win over Ipswich Town at the Etihad on Saturday made it seven victories from seven Premier League games and wrote Enzo Maresca into the record books: no manager had ever won his first seven league matches in charge of a new club.
Phil Foden set the tone. Back in the starting line-up, he slid a Jérémy Doku cutback past Christian Walton after 19 minutes for his first goal since last December, after 23 matches without one. Ipswich hit back almost immediately when Daizen Maeda brushed off Marc Guéhi and finished low.
Then Erling Haaland took over. The Norwegian headed in from close range after a fine delivery by Mateo Kovačić before the break and, midway through the second half, ran onto Iliman Ndiaye’s through ball to make it 3-1. He thought he had a hat-trick late on, but VAR spotted an offside by Enzo Fernández in the build-up. His tally for the season stands at 12, and no one in Premier League history has needed fewer games to score 100 times without penalties.
The closing minutes were tense. VAR awarded Ipswich a penalty for Guéhi’s challenge on Abdul Fatawu, and substitute Zian Flemming converted. The Ipswich manager said he was proud of a side that fought for all 102 minutes. Asked whether City’s legal dispute with the league made the occasion feel different, he insisted it was simply his team against City, “bananas or no bananas” – a nod to the inflatable fruit waved by home fans, a tradition dating back to the 1980s.
City now sit six points clear, with Arsenal able to cut the gap to three. Haaland limped off at full time, but Maresca said the striker had told him it was “nothing serious”. Next comes a European night against AEK Athens on Tuesday.
