Manchester City 4-1 Ipswich Town: Haaland hat-trick downs the Tractor Boys

Manchester City made light work of the newly promoted Ipswich Town, defeating them 4-1 in their first home game of this most recent title defence.

Despite going behind early, Erling Haaland’s hat trick and a lone Kevin De Bruyne strike were enough to seal all three points for the Citizens, who go top of the Premier League table.

As it happened

At this point, you know the drill: Manchester City seldom succumb to a newly promoted side. Ipswich weren’t going to upset tradition this time round either. They were comfortable, clinical and ruthless as ever. If you’ve ever watched City beat your side, you know what to expect – and they were up to their usual tricks today.

As for Ipswich, they were well-beaten, but they weren’t terrible. There is a distinction to be had there. They didn’t have the ball an awful lot, but when they did they showed signs of promise – signs of how they got here in the first place. A lot of their play was neat and tidy. Four good passes and one dodgy one, a system that works against most teams, but not when your every move has been studied and strategised against with military level precision. This is where they fell short; every pass every so slightly askew was pounded upon by a suffocating City press.

But don’t forget they were the ones who scored first. It was typical City in an ironic sort of way; they only seem to concede on the break. When they do, often fingers can then be pointed at Ederson after doing something unconventional. Low and behold, Sammie Szmodics’ opening goal fit that billing to a tee. One Ben Johnson ball forward caught out a napping back line and suddenly Szmodics was in. This was his first Premier League start. This was a chance he couldn’t possibly miss.

He probably should have though. The shot was tame – close enough to Ederson’s body that he should’ve palmed it clear. But he has his moments, the Brazilian. Sometimes his shot-stopping can be… odd. He got the big touch he needed, but instead of the ball fizzing wide of the post, it trickled ever so slowly into the back of the net. The travelling fans went berserk. Szmodics responded to his goal by cupping his ears toward an otherwise silence-stunned Etihad Stadium. This wasn’t in the script. Ipswich, after only eight minutes, were in front at the home of the champions.

Here’s the issue. The goal was a double-edged sword. You see, if you’re going to shoot for the king, you better kill the king. After four consecutive titles, City are now firmly the head of the Premier League’s royal family. Sadly for Ipswich, their goal was merely a stone thrown into the ornate palace windows. A Tractor Boy protesting the ruthlessness of the kingdom’s rulers. In other words, it annoyed City. It was a display of insolence, a threat to their control, a transgression against the powers that be. City had to respond in the way only they can: with brutal force.

12 minutes in. City had themselves a penalty, Leif Davis the culprit, hacking down Savinho just inside his own box. A late, clumsy challenge, and an opportunity wrapped in blue and maroon ribbons for Erling Haaland. The Norwegian stepped up to the spot, and you can work out the rest. Arijanet Muric went right, Haaland left, and City were level.

14 minutes in. Parity was turned into the lead, as Muric got himself into trouble and presented too much of the ball to Savinho. The Brazilian nicked it off him, squared it to Kevin De Bruyne with an empty net staring him in the face, and 2-1 was the inevitable result.

16 minutes in. The lead was doubled, De Bruyne and Haaland not done scheming just yet. The Belgian dinked one over the top, Muric came but didn’t commit, and the Norwegian was all too happy to nod it past him and slot home into another gaping net.

It was a ruthless display of power. Four minutes, a penalty and two goalkeeping blunders yielded three Manchester City goals. It felt almost unfair in a way. Ipswich had dared question the natural order of things and they were punished for it.

In the end, four minutes of scorched earth were all they needed. City sleepwalked through the rest of the match, seldom coming close to another goal. There was one two-minute period in which Rico Lewis hit the crossbar from very short range before De Bruyne did the same from much further out, but that was really it.

That was until the 88th minute. By this point, the game was wrapped up. But Erling Haaland was on a brace, and he was simply never going to be happy with that. So with just half a yard of space on the edge of the area, he spun, swung his left leg and with it crashed the ball into the bottom right corner. A tenth City hat trick for a striker who refuses to be confined by the limitations of the record books.

But even then, the biggest cheers of the game didn’t really come from the goals either, with City welcoming back their prodigal king in İlkay Gündoğan, whose every touch was serenaded as if he really were royalty, and Ipswich – for their part – making the most of their day out by telling the home fans that their support was a synonym of really bad.

There really was nothing remarkable about this game. City rounded out a comfortable victory as they have done time and time again under Pep Guardiola. They didn’t need to keep their foot on the gas after the third goal hit the back of the net. Even if that was all the way back in the 16th minute, it was the killer blow – by the time Erling Haaland made it four and secured his hat trick, they were just showing off.

Ipswich need not panic. They’ve lost their opening pair of Premier League Matches, but they’ve done so against Liverpool and Manchester City. That’s a baptism of fire if there ever was one. If they play as they did today – and certainly as they did last week – they have every chance of surviving.

The terrifying outcome of this match is that City are going from strength to strength. Two at Stamford Bridge last week and now four against Ipswich today, and that’s without Rodri in the base of midfield. There’s a real feel-good factor about Guardiola’s side right now. The youngsters are thriving, Erling Haaland’s as prolific as ever, they’re winning games and even Gündoğan’s back to join in the fun. These are early days, but it’s hard to see a weak point in this team – and for everyone else, that is scary.

The lineups

MCI: Ederson; Gvardiol, Dias, Akanji, Lewis; Kovačić, De Bruyne, Bernardo; Doku, Savinho, Haaland

IPS: Muric; Davis, Greaves, Woolfenden, Tuanzebe, Johnston; Szmodics, Luongo, Morsy, Hutchinson; Delap