Manchester City overcame an early scare to defeat Ipswich Town 4-1, with Erling Haaland scoring his 23rd career hat-trick after marking his 100th game in English football with a goal against Chelsea.
The visitors stunned the reigning Premier League champions when Sammie Szmodics opened the scoring in the seventh minute. However, the Premier League champions quickly responded, showcasing their firepower and resilience.
Just nine minutes after Szmodics’ goal, City found themselves 3-1 ahead. The turning point came when VAR intervened following a challenge on Savinho by Leif Davis. Referee Sam Allison, who stepped in after Michael Salisbury sustained an injury in the warm-up, awarded City a penalty. Haaland calmly converted to level the score.
Moments later, Ipswich’s debutant goalkeeper Arijanet Muric was caught in possession by Savinho inside his own box. Savinho squared the ball to Kevin De Bruyne, who slotted into an empty net to give City the lead.
A minute later, Muric's misjudgment led to Haaland scoring again, nodding the ball past the advancing keeper and finishing from a tight angle.
City continued to dominate, with Rico Lewis and De Bruyne both hitting the crossbar as Ipswich struggled to cope with the relentless pressure. Ipswich tightened up their defence in the second half, frustrating City’s attempts to extend their lead. Pep Guardiola brought on Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish in the final 20 minutes to freshen up the attack.
Haaland completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute, turning on the edge of the box and firing a low shot into the net, sealing a convincing victory for City. With this performance, Haaland now has 67 goals in 68 Premier League appearances and 94 in all competitions since joining Manchester City.
All seven of Haaland's Premier League hat-tricks have been scored at the Etihad Stadium, with only Thierry Henry netting more hat-tricks at a single venue in the competition, having scored all eight of his at Highbury.
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