Haaland’s Hat-Trick Leads Manchester City to Dominant Win Over Ipswich

Erling Haaland delivered a masterclass performance with a hat-trick as Manchester City comfortably defeated newly-promoted Ipswich Town 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium, underscoring the challenges of life in the Premier League.

Ipswich, returning to the top flight for the first time in 22 years, initially stunned the reigning champions when Sammie Szmodics, making his full debut, slotted a shot through Ederson’s legs just seven minutes into the match. The goal sparked early hope for the Tractor Boys, but that hope was quickly extinguished by a rapid response from Manchester City.

Within four minutes, the game turned on its head. Haaland leveled the score with a coolly taken penalty after a VAR review overturned referee Sam Allison’s initial decision, which had ruled that Savinho had dived. Moments later, Kevin de Bruyne capitalized on a mix-up involving Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, driving home a second for City. Haaland then added his second and City’s third, expertly rounding Muric to finish off a swift attack, leaving the visitors reeling at 3-1 just 16 minutes into the game.

Despite Manchester City’s dominance, Ipswich had a glimmer of hope when Leif Davis appeared to be fouled by Savinho inside the box, but their appeals for a penalty were waved away.

The second half was marked by the return of Ilkay Gundogan, who rejoined City from Barcelona on a one-year deal. The fans greeted his appearance with the loudest cheer of the match.

As the game neared its conclusion and Ipswich seemed set to limit the damage to three goals, Haaland struck again, firing a low drive from distance to complete his hat-trick and secure a resounding victory for Manchester City.

This win maintains Manchester City’s perfect start to the season, with two wins from two games. Meanwhile, Ipswich, who also faced Liverpool in their opening match, are still searching for their first points in what has been a challenging introduction to Premier League football.