MCI Post-Match Review: Manchester City vs Ipswich Town

In a thrilling 4-1 victory, Manchester City defeated the newly promoted Ipswich Town over the weekend. Even without Phil Foden, out with an undisclosed virus, and Rodri, still on holiday from the Euros, City made it look easy and proved why they are the reigning, defending champions of England. 

All eyes were on our returning legend Ilkay Gundogan, as he returned from a year long stint at Barcelona. The mood at the Etihad was unmatched and it was a bonafide celebration of sorts all day for the return of our treble captain. Frankly, there was no way City was going to let lackluster play or the match result spoil the party. A hat trick from Erling Haaland and goal and an assist from our talisman Kevin De Bruyne were matched by great performances from two of our most promising younger talents, new Brazilian signing Savinho and academy grad Rico Lewis.

First Half: 

City started the match with the same starting lineup as last week’s 2-0 victory over Chelsea. The blues started slowly, allowing a seemingly easy weighted ball to Sam Szmodics to give Ipswich a surprising 1-0 lead. As is typical of Man City, this goal wasn’t unanswered. Savinho, brimming with energy and eager to attack, drew a penalty after a brilliant run into the box. Savio’s lightning quickness and nifty manipulation of the ball left the Ipswich defender in a position where he quite literally had no choice but to attempt the tackle. Erling Haaland stepped up and as always, Erling Haaland delivered, burying the penalty to even the match at 1-1 in the 12th minute. 

This goal meant he’s now scored against 23 teams scored in the league (every team he’s played against). At this point Savio came alive and impressed with his sheer hustle, catching former City Academy product and Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric while trying to play from the back. A perfectly weighted assist to the crashing Kevin De Bruyne was enough for City to take the lead, with our #17 converting with his left foot - City now had the lead. But De Bruyne wasn’t done yet. A few minutes after his goal, he placed a perfectly weighted pass to Haaland, who immediately capitalized with another goal. The first half was dominated by City after conceding the goal. A close chance for KDB and post hit by Rico left fans wondering just how much worse could it have gotten for our opponents? 

In the first half, the following players stood out:

Kevin De Bruyne was back to his world-class antics with a goal, an assist, a big chance created, and was a driving force for the team. The KDB x Haaland link up was on full display in that first half, which leads us to the striking VIking himself, Erling Haaland. A newly promoted side’s defense must be having nightmares thanks to our #9. In the box, he was a complete pest all day, making it very easy for Savinho, Doku, and Kevin to find the gaping spaces and exploit them. In the early portion of the season, Erling appears to be back to his 2022/2023 form. But a special mention must be made about our newest signing Savinho. How special is he? It feels like the #26 shirt has a magical first touch power and the similarities between he and Riyad Mahrez are quite noticeable. 

The key to this first half was Savinho. His drawn penalty to level the match and his relentless pressing of Muric resulted directly to the second goal. He seems to have hit the ground running in the Guardiola system, which normally takes players a year or more to adjust too. All in all, I’d say we had one of our best first halves in a long time. 

Second Half:

In the second half, the blues unfortunately had to make switches due to an injury to Mateo Kovacic, who was then replaced by John Stones. This is a tough blow for Kova, who trained hard throughout the preseason and played a crucial role in last week’s victory over Chelsea. One of our more under the radar, bargain signings, he has more than shown he is capable of playing in this system but continues to struggle with fitness. The second half proved to be a slower pace, with Ipswich moving into a back 5 (sometimes more) to attempt to keep the score line as it was in the first half. A superb delivery from KDB almost gave Haaland a hat trick in the 63rd minute but Muric came up with one of the most impressive saves of the season so far. Cheers erupted around the Etihad at the 71st minute mark, as we welcomed Ilkay Gundogan back home. It was Savinho making way for the retired German international as well as a second sub, Jack Grealish for the highflying Jeremy Doku. But the game was far from over, with Haaland stepping up to produce a moment of magic in only the way he could. A brilliant bit of defensive work from Rico Lewis saw the ball roll onto Haaland’s feet, right outside the box. A quick spin and he fired a low-driven rocket shot with his left foot, beating Muric for his tenth City hattrick. A final sub saw Matheus Nunes and James McAtee subbed on for the aforementioned Haaland and De Bruyne. 

City quite frankly dominated the second half, with Ipswich unable to muster a single chance. It was a very good defensive performance by the City backline after the goal was conceded. Notably, Gundogan seemed like Gundogan. His pressing was excellent and he tried to find Haaland more than once. Having someone who knows the system inside and out is a massive advantage in a “new signing.” 

Post-Match Thoughts:

• Rico Lewis is one of the best youngsters on the planet. His IQ for his age and the way he tracked back in transition is special. He has intangibles you can’t teach. He had 11 touches in the box  and won possession 10 times. No other player had more box touches or won more possession in a single game in the last three years (Stat Muse)
• KDB, Haaland, Savinho=Nightmare for opponents, Savinho adds an entire new element to what was already one of the best duos in Europe. These three can rival any three in Europe. They were all special today.
• The response after conceding: To score 3 goals in 4 minutes and for our defenders to step up after a momentary lapse shows a champion’s mentality. I love the way we responded today. 
• Welcome Home Gundo: Today was a special day for City fans as the prodigal son returned home to the Etihad. It was a party atmosphere all day and the crowd’s energy when Gundo came in was through the roof! Great support by our hometown match goers, he deserved nothing less. 

MOTM/RATINGS:

Ederson-6

Akanji-8

Dias-7.5

Gvardiol-7.7

Rico Lewis-8.1

Mateo Kovacic-7.3

Savinho-8.8

Bernardo Silva-6.2

Kevin De Bruyne-10

Jeremy Doku-7.2

Erling Haaland-10 

Subs:

John Stones-7

Jack Grealish-7

McAtee/Nunes-N/A

MOTM: Erling Haaland & Kevin De Bruyne

Written by: Matty

Edited by: SHEIKH