{"id":805856,"date":"2026-10-17T19:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T19:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/805856\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T19:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T19:34:18","slug":"haaland-helps-maresca-achieve-record-start-as-manchester-city-defeat-ipswich-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/805856\/","title":{"rendered":"Haaland helps Maresca achieve record start as Manchester City defeat Ipswich | Premier League"},"content":{"rendered":"

There have been few winners in Manchester City\u2019s guilty verdict, except highly paid lawyers and the inflatable fruit industry. The fans have suffered, being forced to question everything they have been told, while being labelled \u201ccheats\u201d, but they were able to forget the cacophony of noise around the club as Enzo Maresca became the first manager to win his first seven games in charge of a team.<\/p>\n

Ipswich were the latest victims, but they put up a fight in City\u2019s first home Premier League game since being found to have breached financial rules<\/a>. Defiance has fortified most of the City fanbase, who were able to see local boy Phil Foden instigate the triumph with a kiss of the badge, before an emblem of their wealth, Erling Haaland, secured the points to move six clear, albeit with a few scares between, courtesy of Daizen Maeda and Zian Flemming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect to win seven out of seven, but we are working well,\u201d Maresca said. \u201cThis is the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victory came at a cost as Haaland and Antoine Semenyo limped off at full-time, in addition to Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Nico O\u2019Reilly suffering injuries, although Maresca was left unsure of the severity as City prepare to host AEK Athens on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

If City have felt like it has been their backs against the wall for the past few weeks, it was Ipswich\u2019s turn. Gary O\u2019Neil put 11 men behind the ball whenever the hosts ventured over the halfway line as City enjoyed 90% possession in the opening quarter-hour, but without truly threatening as they struggled to find space in the lowest of blocks, expertly organised and fully disciplined.<\/p>\n

Maresca had made six changes to refresh the side and it took time to understand one another\u2019s rhythm, with Ayyoub Bouaddi creating it from defensive midfield in another mature performance from the teenager making his first Premier League<\/a> start.<\/p>\n

Enzo Maresca has guided Manchester City a record seven-match winning start in the Premier League. Photograph: Michael Steele\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

It was inevitable what was coming as there was irrefutable evidence that City were dominant. As at Anfield<\/a>, J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku was a key instigator, showing mesmeric skill on the left of the area before finding Foden to sweep home for his first goal since mid-December.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know him from years ago, for me he\u2019s one of the best Premier League players,\u201d Maresca said. \u201cSince day one, it\u2019s my duty to help him to be again one of the best players. I\u2019m very happy for his goal and hopefully it can be just the beginning of many goals and many good performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was an element of pantomime around the ground from the booing of the Premier League anthem, the singalongs and inflatables. It was fitting Marc Gu\u00e9hi did not know Maeda was behind him, allowing the Ipswich man to latch on to a sublime curved through ball from Abdoul Ouattara and equalise two minutes after the opener.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideManchester City 3-2 Ipswich key factsShow\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2022 With Manchester City maintaining their 100% record, Enzo Maresca is the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a team.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Manchester City are the third team to win their opening seven games of a Premier League season, after Liverpool in 2019-20 (first 8) and Chelsea in 2005-06 (first 9).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Erling Haaland (pictured) has now scored\u00a0100 non-penalty goals in the Premier League, reaching this milestone in fewer appearances than any other player (139). The previous fewest was 150 appearances, by Alan Shearer in 1996. Opta<\/p>\n

Photograph: Martin Rickett\/PA<\/p>\n

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After a missed chance, Haaland showed it is possible to get a better result second time around, making the most of Kovacic becoming an auxiliary winger. The header lacked power, but Christian Walton could not keep it out, palming the ball from one hand to the other and into the net before Haaland was serenaded with the clap of bananas.<\/p>\n

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City found themselves stuck in a lull, unable to prise open Ipswich, instead having to bide their time. It was a test of patience and a sweeping move upfield concluded with a precision pass from Iliman Ndiaye and an aggressive finish from Haaland, who was later denied a hat-trick by the video assistant referee.<\/p>\n

Manchester City fans have gone back to more innocent times with their inflatable bananas. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole\/Offside\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Farai Hallam reviewed footage of Gu\u00e9hi taking out Abdul Fatawu in the area and Flemming did the rest in the 90th minute, as reward for an impressive team performance, leaving O\u2019Neil upset Ipswich departed with nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re an incredible group,\u201d he said. \u201cPlayers giving everything. It\u2019s a privilege to stand there and represent them because they\u2019re an incredible group.\u201d<\/p>\n

City were left to complain about a Premier League official\u2019s decision when 12 minutes was added on, with few knowing why, but this result will not be questioned.<\/p>\n

Maresca called on his team to make their own noise while a cacophony swirls around them, but on-pitch success will not speak louder while what is happening off it is unresolved. The fans sang about relegation and trips to Stockport, embracing a dark situation with humour to match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There have been few winners in Manchester City\u2019s guilty verdict, except highly paid lawyers and the inflatable fruit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":805857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-805856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}