Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City continued its perfect start to the Premier League season with a 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Phil Foden opened the scoring before Daizen Maeda equalised for Ipswich, but Haaland struck on either side of half-time to take his league tally to 12 goals this season.
Zian Flemming converted a late penalty for the visitor, but City held on for its seventh consecutive league victory, moving six points clear of defending champion Arsenal, which faces Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
City manager Enzo Maresca also became the first manager to win his opening seven Premier League matches.
The victory came amid uncertainty surrounding the club, which was found guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial regulations last month and has appealed against the ruling.
Supporters filled the Etihad stands with inflatable bananas, reviving a tradition from the late 1980s as a show of solidarity with the club.
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On the pitch, Foden put City ahead in the 19th minute, finishing from close range after Jeremy Doku cut inside from the left and delivered a pass into the penalty area.
Ipswich responded two minutes later when Abdoul Ouattara released Maeda, who outmuscled Marc Guehi before calmly beating Gianluigi Donnarumma.
City restored its advantage in the 34th minute through Haaland, who headed Mateo Kovacic’s delivery past goalkeeper Christian Walton.
Nico O’Reilly threatened with a header early in the second half before Haaland extended the lead in the 69th minute.
Iliman Ndiaye carried the ball forward and played a precise pass through the defence, allowing Haaland to evade Ouattara and finish past Walton.
The Norwegian thought he had completed his hat-trick when he volleyed home after Ndiaye struck the crossbar, but VAR ruled out the effort for offside against Enzo Fernandez.
VAR intervened again shortly afterwards, awarding Ipswich a penalty following Guehi’s challenge on Abdul Fatawu.
Flemming converted the spot-kick to reduce the deficit, but City protected its narrow advantage through the closing stages to maintain its winning run despite the club’s off-field troubles.
MAN CITY VS IPSWICH PLAYER RATINGS
Manchester City (4-2-3-1)
Womanizer: 6.5 | Nunes: 7.4 | Diaz: 7.3 | Go: 7.2 | O'Reilly: 6.7 | Kovacić: 8.2 | Bouaddi: 7.6 | Rating: 8.0 | Foden: 8.2 | Doc: 7.9 | The Netherlands (POTM): 9.0
Ipswich Town (3-4-2-1)
Walton: 5.7 | O'Shea: 6.6 | Diop: 6.3 | Greaves: 5.9 | Ouattara: 6.9 | Florentino: 6.1 | Palacios: 7.4 | Davis: 6.2 | Maeda: 7.3 | Section: 6.6 | Emersonn: 6.3
Published on Oct 17, 2026