Manchester City have made it back-to-back wins at the start of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign courtesy of a 4-1 success over Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium.
Sammie Szmodics sent Ipswich ahead in the seventh minute of the contest, with the newly-promoted outfit in dream land at the Etihad Stadium.
However, Erling Haaland levelled the scores from the penalty spot in the 11th minute, before Kevin De Bruyne sent the champions ahead three minutes later.
Haaland then had his second in the 15th minute, with Pep Guardiola's side quickly leading 3-1 after making a poor start to their second league game of the new campaign.
The response from Man City was impressive, but Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric was guilty of a couple of poor moments, while a challenge from Leif Davis on Savinho led to the champions being given a penalty during a period when Ipswich needed to settle.
It was not a surprise that the pace of the match dropped in the period that followed, and despite the defeat, Ipswich can take plenty of positives from their performance after the four-minute spell where they conceded three times.
Kieran McKenna's side did ship another goal before the final whistle, though, with Haaland completing his hat trick in the 88th minute with an excellent effort from distance.
Man City will be expecting Arsenal to again be their main challengers for the title this term, so it was important to pick up all three points ahead of the London club's next fixture away to Aston Villa.
MAN CITY VS. IPSWICH HIGHLIGHTS
7th min: Man City 0-1 Ipswich (Sammie Szmodics)
Ipswich take a shock lead at the Etihad Stadium, as Szmodics manages to squeeze his effort under Ederson after a clever pass from Ben Johnson.
11th min: Man City 1-1 Ipswich (Erling Haaland)
Man City level the scores in the 12th minute of the contest, as Haaland finds the back of the net from the penalty spot after Savinho had been fouled by Davis.
14th min: Man City 2-1 Ipswich (Kevin De Bruyne)
Man City take the lead at the Etihad Stadium as Savinho's pressure on the Ipswich goalkeeper leads to the ball falling for De Bruyne, who rolled his effort into the back of the net, with the English champions turning the match around quickly.
15th min: Man City 3-1 Ipswich (Erling Haaland)
The home side score a third in the 15th minute of the match, and Haaland has his second, with the Norway international rounding the Ipswich goalkeeper before converting into the back of the net.
Muric came off his line but got nowhere near the ball, and Man City take charge of the clash after the early setback.
88th min: Man City 4-1 Ipswich (Erling Haaland)
Haaland completes his hat trick in the 88th minute of the contest, with the forward finding the bottom corner with a low strike from outside the box.
Some player.
MAN OF THE MATCH - ERLING HAALAND
© Imago
Haaland had a rest over the summer due to Norway's absence from Euro 2024, and that is likely to spell bad news for Premier League defences in the early stages of this campaign.
There remain question marks over his ability to link the play, but Haaland is simply a goal machine, and it would be a shock if he was not the leading goalscorer in the Premier League once again at the end of the season.
Haaland's first came from the penalty spot in the 11th minute, before adding a second with a clever finish in the 15th minute; the forward then completed his hat trick with a brilliant long-range finish in the latter stages.
MAN CITY VS. IPSWICH MATCH STATS
Possession: Man City 78%-22% Ipswich
Shots: Man City 13-2 Ipswich
Shots on target: Man City 6-2 Ipswich
Corners: Man City 10-1 Ipswich
Fouls: Man City 3-12 Ipswich
WHAT NEXT?
Man City will be bidding to make it three straight wins at the start of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign when they head to West Ham United next weekend.
Ipswich, meanwhile, will be in EFL Cup action against AFC Wimbledon on Wednesday evening before resuming their league campaign at home to Fulham next weekend.
Matt Law
