Manchester City extended their Premier League winning run to seven matches on Saturday, beating Ipswich 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland scored twice, taking his season tally to a season-high eight goals, as the club played on under a cloud of controversy.
The result was City’s second consecutive league win, sandwiched around a 4-2 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. The club had recently been found guilty of large-scale financial wrongdoing in the Premier League over nearly a decade. The source describes that verdict as a threat to City’s place in England’s top flight, but the club maintains its innocence and has appealed.
Fans and manager rally behind City amid scandal
City manager Enzo Maresca believes the saga has galvanised the squad. Supporters showed similar defiance, with many bringing inflatable bananas to the ground, a throwback to an item fans carried to games in the 1980s during tough times for the club.
Some fans also jeered the Premier League anthem before kickoff. In the first half, home supporters were heard chanting “Going down with the City” as their side extended its lead at the top to six points.
“The fans, the club, the players – we are all together in this journey,” Maresca said of City’s defiance in troubled times.
Maresca and Haaland set new Premier League marks
Maresca became the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a team. He succeeded Pep Guardiola in the off season, and he admitted he had not expected such a start. “I didn’t expect to win seven out of seven,” he said, “but we are working well, working good.”
Only Chelsea in 2005 and Liverpool in 2019 have also won at least their first seven games of a Premier League season. Both of those teams went on to win the title. Haaland, meanwhile, became the fastest player in Premier League history to score 100 non-penalty goals, a feat that took him 139 matches.
Injury concerns for Haaland and Semenyo
Haaland and Antoine Semenyo, who came on as a second-half substitute, were both seen hobbling off at the final whistle. Haaland had taken a blow to the foot late in the match. Ipswich also scored a second goal in stoppage time, piling on pressure in the closing minutes.
Maresca said he was not worried about Haaland. “We will see,” Maresca said. “I asked him, and he said he was OK, so hopefully it is nothing serious.” He added that Semenyo’s injury might be more serious.
Liverpool, Aston Villa and Fulham also pick up wins
Earlier, Liverpool came from behind to win 2-1 at Brentford, who were reduced to nine men. Keane Lewis-Potter had given the home side the lead with a 44th-minute header before Brentford midfielder Yehor Yarmoliuk was shown a red card in first-half stoppage time for aiming a head-butt at Jeremy Jacquet. Victor Munoz and Alexander Isak scored after the break to give Liverpool the win and hand Brentford their first league defeat of the season.
Liverpool suffered further setbacks. Vitaly Janelt was also sent off for Brentford after a second yellow card in second-half stoppage time. Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong, a half-time substitute, were forced off with injuries. Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said Szoboszlai’s problem was a recurrence of the hamstring injury he picked up while playing for Hungary during the recent international break.
Johan Manzambi, who could easily have joined Newcastle in the off season, scored the winner against his former suitors as Aston Villa won 1-0 at St James’ Park. The 21-year-old Switzerland midfielder has now scored three times in four games. Newcastle had reached an agreement with Freiburg to sign him after his impressive World Cup performances, but the player himself did not agree to the move.
Fulham also secured a first league win of the season, beating Hull 1-0. Alex Iwobi scored in the 33rd minute, lifting Fulham off the bottom of the table. The result eased the pressure on manager Alvaro Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid coach who arrived in the off season.
