Man City 4-1 Ipswich: Player ratings as Haaland hat-trick helps Cityzens avoid scare
- Man City came from behind to beat Ipswich 4-1 on Saturday
- Szmodics' early strike soon erased by Haaland & De Bruyne
- Gundogan off the bench for second City debut
Manchester City avoided a scare on Saturday as they were forced to come from behind to beat newly promoted Ipswich Town 4-1 in the Premier League.
Sammie Szmodics put the visitors ahead early on but City needed less than ten minutes to flip the game on its head. Erling Haaland tied things up from the penalty spot and, after Kevin De Bruyne found the back of the net, the towering striker quickly put the game beyond any doubt.
In the dying embers, Haaland bagged his tenth City hat-trick, firing from range to secure all three points.
How the game unfolded
Ipswich found themselves defending an early scramble after Jeremy Doku's low cross was directed towards Haaland. The striker slid in against goalkeeper Arijanet Muric but the visitors managed to clear their lines.
With seven minutes on the clock, Ipswich took a shock lead. Szmodics went through on goal and fired a low effort through Ederson, whose deflection only put the ball in slow-mo as it trickled over the line.
Ipswich's lead lasted just five minutes, however, A VAR check spotted Leif Davis tripping Savinho in the box, and Haaland made no mistake from 12 yards to tie things up.
Almost immediately after, City were ahead. Muric was caught in possession by Savinho, who tapped the ball over to De Bruyne to fire into an empty net from the edge of the penalty area. The third goal came just as quickly as Haaland rounded Muric and slotted home with 17 minutes on the clock.
Rico Lewis crashed against the bar on City's search for a fourth and De Bruyne followed suit from range just moments later, but Ipswich managed to weather the storm and keep the deficit at two heading into the break.
Ipswich clearly changed their approach to the game for the second half, dropping deeper at the back to try and finally stop City from getting through.
Haaland looked destined to bag his third when he sent a header towards goal shortly after the hour mark, but a sensational save from Muric denied the Norway international.
City never stopped looking to add to their tally, and with the clock ticking down, Haaland finally grabbed his hat-trick. A fierce strike from outside the box fizzed beyond Muric and into the bottom corner to cap off an excellent day for the hosts.
Man City player ratings (3-2-4-1)
GK: Ederson - 5/10 - Failed to get enough on Szmodics' opener, reigniting the debate about whether he would have saved Son Heung-min's famous strike last season.
CB: Manuel Akanji - 7/10 - Comfortable at the back and regularly tried to get forwards to support Savinho in attack.
CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - Controlled his defensive line well and always looked to get things moving with the ball at this feet.
CB: Josko Gvardiol - 6/10 - Solid and unspectacular. Just did his job.
DM: Rico Lewis - 7/10 - A real force in midfield. Involved in a whole lot and caused plenty of problems in the Ipswich box. Unlucky to see his shot crash back off the bar.
DM: Mateo Kovacic - 7/10 - Worked incredibly hard to keep City's relentless pressure up. Good energy off the ball and impressive composure in possession. Limped off early in the second half.
RM: Savinho - 8/10 - A massive threat. Won the penalty for the equaliser and then it was his pressure that led to De Bruyne's strike. Caused all sorts of problems down the right side.
CM: Bernardo Silva - 6/10 - Noticeably quiet. Really struggled to get involved despite City's dominance in possession.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne - 9/10 - One goal and one assist in the first half. Another typically excellent performance from the Belgian.
LM: Jeremy Doku - 7/10 - Savinho stole the spotlight on the other side of the pitch but Doku was still his usual self, driving at defenders and firing in dangerous crosses.
ST: Erling Haaland - 9/10 - Haaland may not have been too involved in City's build-up, but he still walked away with three goals. It's just what he does.
Substitutes
SUB: John Stones (50' for Kovacic) - 6/10
SUB: Ilkay Gundogan (71' for Doku) - 6/10
SUB: Jack Grealish (71' for Savinho) - 6/10
SUB: James McAtee (90' for Haaland) - N/A
SUB: Matheus Nunes (90' for De Bruyne) - N/A
Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Issa Kabore, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake
Manager
Pep Guardiola - 8/10 - Despite the early setback, City stayed true to their game plan and ruthlessly picked Ipswich apart.
Ipswich player ratings (3-4-2-1)
GK: Arijanet Muric - 3/10 - A massive error for City's second goal was quickly followed by another poor decision for the third. He did, however, make a stunning save to deny Haaland after the break.
CB: Axel Tuanzebe - 5/10 - Really struggled at the back as City refused to let the pressure drop. Didn't seem to be on the same wavelength as Johnson.
CB: Luke Woolfenden - 4/10 - Can't fault the effort, but Woolfenden was chasing shadows for the majority of this game. Couldn't get near his elite opponents.
CB: Jacob Greaves - 5/10 - Put in a shift but simply couldn't hold a candle to this level of opposition.
RM: Ben Johnson - 5/10 - Not always switched on defensively but did at least manage the assist for Ipswich's opener.
CM: Sam Morsy - 6/10 - Great work rate and decent composure in the rare moments that he was allowed to get on the ball.
CM: Massimo Luongo - 5/10 - Couldn't keep up with City's midfield. Picked apart with ease.
LM: Leif Davis - 5/10 - Mohamed Salah last week and Savinho this week. A real baptism of fire for Davis in the Premier League. Tried his best to keep up but definitely lost this battle.
AM: Omari Hutchinson - 5/10 - The occasional bright moment with the ball at his feet but never really had the chance to strut his stuff.
AM: Sammie Szmodics - 7/10 - Managed to maintain his excellent goalscoring form against the reigning champions. A memorable individual moment for Szmodics.
ST: Liam Delap - 5/10 - Through no fault of his own, Delap found it almost impossible to get involved against his former club. An impossible task.
Substitutes
SUB: Jack Taylor (72' for Luongo) - 5/10
SUB: Marcus Harness (72' for Szmodics) - 5/10
SUB: Ali Al Hamadi (83' for Delap) - N/A
SUB: George Edmundson (89' for Tuanzebe) - N/A
SUB: Conor Chaplin (89' for Hutchinson) - N/A
Subs not used: Christian Walton (GK), Cameron Burgess, Conor Townsend, Jens Cajuste
Manager
Kieran McKenna - 4/10 - Flashed some naivety and stubbornness as Ipswich refused to deviate away from their usual style, but eventually realised that his side simply could not hang with this level of opponent.
