Haaland scores twice as Man City edge past Ipswich 3-2

Erling Haaland scored twice as Premier League leaders Manchester City beat Ipswich Town 3-2 at the Etihad on Saturday, earning a seventh straight win and moving six points clear at the top.

The Norway striker netted in each half to take his season tally to 12, became the fastest player in Premier League history to reach 100 non-penalty goals, and was denied a hat-trick by VAR late on. Ipswich were valiant in defeat, battling until the end and giving City a fright in the closing minutes.

A playful atmosphere, a united front

Banana-crazed fans, a tradition that started in the 1980s, made for a playful atmosphere, and City's players responded with another demonstration of dogged defiance. Their focus on winning football matches despite the huge scrutiny surrounding the club cannot be questioned.

Pep Guardiola was the guest of honour when PSG visited in the week. On Saturday, it was former director Txiki Begiristain, who oversaw an unprecedented period of domestic dominance during his time at the Etihad. City are determined to maintain a united front wherever possible.

Foden ends his long wait

It was the forgotten Phil Foden who edged City ahead, scoring for the first time since December 2025 to end a 23-game run without a goal. Jeremy Doku's trickery gave him the opportunity to beat Christian Walton with a guided low finish, and on his return to the starting XI he made it look easy.

Maeda responds, Haaland takes over

Ipswich, though, were in no mood to be spectators. Daizen Maeda had the battling visitors level within 155 seconds of Foden's strike, shrugging off Marc Guehi far too easily before beating Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low finish.

They had no answer for the quality of Haaland, though. Mateo Kovacic teed up an easy first for the striker to head home in the first half, gliding down the righthand side of the box unopposed before clipping a lovely ball for Haaland to head in on the penalty spot.

Iliman Ndiaye was the provider for the second, sliding a brilliant pass through for Haaland to step onto and slot past Walton.

Late nerves at the Etihad

City had been cruising throughout, but jittery finishes have become customary at the Etihad. Haaland thought he had completed his hat-trick before VAR ruled Enzo Fernandez offside in the build-up, and Nico O'Reilly had earlier missed a golden opportunity to make the scoreline more comfortable, skewing a header off target.

Then, in the 88th minute, VAR awarded Ipswich a penalty after Guehi made contact with Abdul Fatawu inside the box. Zian Flemming buried the spot-kick to make it 3-2, and nerves jangled until the end of a match that ran to 102 minutes.

Maresca plays down injury fears

Haaland appeared to be in pain after challenging for the ball with Ipswich winger Jack Clark, and limped off at full time before heading straight down the tunnel.

"Unfortunately, in 10 minutes, we had four or five players [with injury issues]. Kovacic, Erling, Antoine and Nico. They are inside now. We will see," Maresca said.

On Haaland, he added: "I don't know. I ask him, he said he was ok. Nothing serious. The only one we need to wait a little bit is Antoine, so we will see."

Maresca was also full of praise for his striker. "He's not just scoring, he's a leader, a captain. He's doing very well."

On his own record, becoming the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a new club, he said: "Very happy. It's a matter of winning games in this business. Then day by day, we're improving. We completely controlled the game. We are doing well and this is the most important thing."

O'Neil proud but frustrated

Ipswich boss Gary O'Neil was disappointed but proud of his players.

"Really disappointed. I did believe we could take points. I'm proud of what the players gave. It takes a lot to come here and keep yourself in the game. This is an incredible group, they gave everything for 102 minutes. It's a privilege to represent them," he said.

"The second goal against us is what really annoys me. We'd worked on that a lot. And then maybe some quality in the final third, we weren't quite good enough in those moments. It just meant we fell a bit short. We've still shown everyone we can compete."

Asked whether it felt any different to be playing Manchester City against the backdrop of their case with the Premier League, he replied: "No. It's just us against City. Trying to win. Bananas or no bananas. It makes no difference to me."

SportsLigue