Full Time
Manchester City beat Ipswich Town 3-2 at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland scoring twice to keep the perfect start going. Phil Foden put City ahead after 19 minutes, Daizen Maeda levelled almost straight away, and Haaland then made it 2-1 before adding a third on 69. A fourth for Haaland was ruled out by VAR for offside, which tells you how the afternoon was going, and Zian Flemming's late penalty made the finish more nervous than it needed to be. That's seven wins from seven in Matchweek 7, 21 points and top of the table, and it makes Enzo Maresca the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games at a club. Ipswich stay on 6 points after a fifth defeat in seven, though scoring twice at the Etihad is more than most manage.
Pre-match Talking Points
-
1Manchester City are top with a perfect six wins from six, 18 points and a goal difference of plus 14. Ipswich sit 15th on six points, having lost four of their first six, so this is a Matchweek 7 game where one side is racing away and the other is trying to stay out of trouble. A City win keeps the perfect record going. An Ipswich point would be the upset of the weekend.
-
2These two have a short recent history, since Ipswich only came back up to the top flight this season after being relegated in 2025. If someone mentions Ipswich beating City at Maine Road in 2000, it is a lovely bit of trivia, but nobody can really claim it as form.
-
3Erling Haaland (pronounced HOW-land) is the man to watch. He is the reason City's goals column looks like a typo, with 18 scored in six games. Ipswich have let in 13 in six, so the maths is not kind to them. If you want one line for the pub, it is 'how many does Haaland get?' and the answer is rarely zero.
-
4City come into this off a midweek Champions League defeat, a 4-2 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain that ended Enzo Maresca's eight-game winning run as City manager. That is a rare wobble for a side that looks otherwise untouchable, and it will be interesting to see how they respond. Ipswich, meanwhile, are working under new manager Gary O'Neil, who replaced Kieran McKenna in the summer after five years in charge. No confirmed team news was available at time of writing, so check the lineups before kick-off.
-
5The hook is the gap. City have won every league game so far, while Ipswich have a goal difference of minus 5. It is the sort of fixture where the interesting question is not who wins but by how much, and whether Ipswich can make it a proper contest. Newly promoted clubs deserve credit for turning up at the Etihad at all, and a goal or two from Ipswich would be a good afternoon's work.
Team Talking Points
-
1City have pulled off a genuinely weird piece of history: they won their first seven league games, then lost the next three. According to Sky Sports, no top-flight team had done that in 122 years. Mention it and a City fan will tell you it's a blip. Their face will tell you they're not entirely sure.
-
2The latest defeat was a 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest last Saturday. Former City academy striker Liam Delap scored twice against his old club, which is football's favourite way of being cruel. City now spend the international break six points behind leaders Arsenal.
-
3Enzo Maresca is the man in charge now. He was blunt after Forest, saying the first half 'was not good enough' and calling the second and third goals 'copy and paste'. When a manager starts describing goals like a computer error, the defending was probably bad.
-
4There's an injury worry too. Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol, two first-choice centre-backs, both went off at half-time at Forest with knocks. Ask a City fan whether the pair will be fit after the break and you'll sound like you've been reading the medical updates.
-
5Then there's the elephant in the room. At the end of September an independent commission found City guilty of 114 of the famous 115 Premier League charges over their finances. The club is appealing and nobody knows the punishment yet. Raise it carefully, or better still, let them raise it.
🍺
Top thing to say down the pub
Seven straight wins, then three straight defeats. City have basically done a whole season's mood swings before Bonfire Night.
🚫
Avoid saying
"Just give it to Haaland and they'll be fine." They did give it to Haaland at Forest, and his shot got cleared off the line. City's problem right now is the defending, and any fan will tell you so at length.
-
1Ipswich lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday, so they go into the break 14th and without a league win in five games. Bournemouth are flying, with eight straight wins, so it's not exactly a shameful defeat. Still, a five-game winless run is the kind of stat Ipswich fans are counting.
-
2The opener came after just five minutes, when Evanilson dispossessed keeper Christian Walton and finished with a no-look effort. It made him the first Bournemouth player ever to score in five Premier League games in a row. Unfortunately for Ipswich, they became a footnote in someone else's record.
-
3The second goal was cruel. Ryan Christie's shot deflected in off Leif Davis for an own goal. Jack Clarke pulled one back from the penalty spot, but Ipswich couldn't find an equaliser.
-
4Gary O'Neil is the man in charge now, after spells at Bournemouth and Wolves. Under him Ipswich have a stubborn streak: they have the best record in the league for winning back points from losing positions. Mention that and you'll sound like you've done your homework.
-
5Before Bournemouth came a 2-2 draw at fellow promoted side Hull, a properly chaotic end-to-end game. Ipswich are safely clear of the bottom three for now. The aim this time is to avoid going straight back down, which is what happened after their last Premier League visit in 2024-25.
🍺
Top thing to say down the pub
Ipswich never know when they're beaten, which is great, but they could do with not going behind quite so often.
🚫
Avoid saying
"Ipswich are just here for one season again" — they've heard it every week since promotion, they're sitting comfortably mid-table, and they'd quite like you to look at the actual league table.