Sammie Szmodics’ shock opening goal for Ipswich Town feels like a distant memory.
Manchester City’s response to going behind at the Etihad was emphatic: an Erling Haaland penalty, a Kevin De Bruyne strike and then a second goal from Haaland inside four minutes meant this game was wrapped up after little more than a quarter of an hour.
In the second half, Ilkay Gundogan came on to begin his second spell at City after leaving Barcelona and some home fans threw in a ‘Poznan’ for good measure before Haaland completed his hat-trick with a clinical finish. It was the seventh time Haaland has scored three goals in a Premier League match, taking him level with Wayne Rooney.
Sam Lee and Thom Harris dissect the key talking points…
Hat-trick Haaland
Three goals in little over three minutes — 191 seconds to be precise — secured this one for City (that’s actual game time because there was a lengthy VAR delay to check the penalty that eventually led to their equaliser). They might have used some of that time to digest the goal they conceded from a counter-attack, an issue that caused them a fair few setbacks last season but was not enough to stop them from winning the title.
It is still something to keep an eye on but it was hard to focus too much on that when they struck back so strongly: in the very next attack, Savinho won the penalty that Haaland converted and then, as Ipswich restarted, the Brazilian pressed and tackled goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, allowing De Bruyne to roll the ball into an empty net. De Bruyne then popped up on the left wing to play a ball in behind for Haaland to run onto, beat Muric and clip home.
De Bruyne and Savinho celebrate putting City 2-1 up (Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
That could barely have been further from the truth, however, because little happened in the way of goalmouth action between Haaland’s second goal and his third, which came three minutes from the end. Another hat-trick for the Norway striker but, up until he struck, the second half had been all about the returning Gundogan, who received the warmest of receptions on his return.
Sam Lee
It is fitting that the experiment that started with Rico Lewis 18 months ago has come full circle back to him.
Pep Guardiola credited the improved performances that led City to the treble in 2023 to Lewis slotting in at right-back after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and moving into the middle of the pitch. That gave City the ‘extra man’ to offset the fact that Haaland cannot operate outside the box, but once John Stones and Kyle Walker picked up the idea, Lewis was back on the bench. Stones became the revelation but City evolved last season so that his injury problems did not derail them: Josko Gvardiol pushed up to left-back to help City get all their bodies in the middle.
This season Gvardiol has stayed back, with Lewis pushing up on the right, only in different ways. He pops up in central midfield when City have the ball at the back but when they reach the final third he is a permanent fixture in the attack, looking to link up with Savinho on the right wing.
Guardiola watches Lewis deliver a pass (Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images)
Stones and the others at the back have more experience and size than Lewis but the 19-year-old is a tidy operator in the final third and carries a decent goal threat when arriving in the box. He had one ruled out last week and, granted, crashed one off the bar from a good position against Ipswich, but the threat is obvious.
Sam Lee
How did Ipswich adapt after Liverpool defeat?
Kieran McKenna’s side drew plenty of praise on their Premier League return, restricting Liverpool to just three shots — all from outside the penalty area — in an encouraging first 45 minutes. Although legs tired and quality told in the second half, their aggressive 4-2-4 press looked to pen Liverpool in during the build-up, with their physicality in duels giving them a foothold.
Predictably, Ipswich adapted their shape to face City, switching to a more conventional 4-3-3 that looked to direct their opponents out wide. There was a surprise, however, as new signing Ben Johnson came into midfield, tasked with tracking De Bruyne’s movement into the channels and helping to face Jeremy Doku wherever possible.
Johnson up against Doku (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Johnson rarely played that position for West Ham, although he was a midfielder during his academy days until coaches converted him to a full-back. It was his incisive run and through ball to Szmodics that created Ipswich’s opening goal from that central space, but there was a sense that the right side was a bit light in City’s 10-minute flurry. The 24-year-old was pulled inside and left De Bruyne with too much space for the second goal.
Ipswich will rarely be punished so emphatically for four minutes of slack. The Johnson experiment was generally a success, and will give them tactical flexibility going forward.
Thom Harris
Muric’s mixed debut
The last time Muric played at the Etihad Stadium, he stood and watched nine goals fly in. Fortunately, they were all for Manchester City, in a 9-0 win over Burton Albion.
Things weren’t quite so extreme, but Muric’s Ipswich debut swung from the ridiculous to the sublime, much as his performances have throughout his Premier League career. He made 11 saves against Chelsea, 10 against Sheffield United, and nine against Manchester United last season at Burnley, either side of giving the ball straight to Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a disastrous 1-0 defeat, and scoring a comical own goal against Brighton & Hove Albion.
In truth, it was another error that opened the floodgates for City. For almost 20 minutes, he was loudly whistled by the home fans whenever he touched the ball, hoping to tempt another mistake. A harsher point, but he was caught out of position for City’s third too, racing out to meet Haaland and being caught on the back foot.
Haaland punishes Muric (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
The Kosovan reminded us of his reflexes in the second half, denying Haaland with a finger-tip save, but when the margin for error is so small, McKenna can’t afford such costly mistakes.
Thom Harris
What next for Manchester City?
Saturday, August 31: West Ham United (A), Premier League, 5.30pm BST, 12.30pm ET
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(Top photo: James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images)