Match Report: Manchester City 3-1 Ipswich Town (HT), KDB nets, Haaland scores brace

Match Report: Manchester City 3-1 Ipswich Town (HT), KDB nets, Haaland scores brace

The first half of the 2024/2025 Premier League clash between Manchester City and Ipswich Town has been nothing short of electrifying, with City taking a commanding 3-1 lead into halftime.

The match started with Ipswich Town surprisingly taking the lead in the 7th minute, when Sammie Szmodics found the back of the net, shocking the home crowd at the Etihad Stadium.

However, City’s response was swift and ruthless. Erling Haaland equalized in the 12th minute with a well-taken penalty, after a foul in the box. Just two minutes later, Kevin De Bruyne added a second goal, completing a rapid comeback for the hosts. The momentum continued as Haaland struck again in the 16th minute, scoring his second of the game and putting City 3-1 up with three goals in just four minutes.

The action didn’t stop there, with Rico Lewis and Kevin De Bruyne both coming close to extending City’s lead in the 29th minute, only to be denied by the woodwork. City’s young talent, Savinho, has also been a constant threat, causing endless problems for the Ipswich defense.

As the half drew to a close, there was a moment of controversy when Ipswich’s Davis went down in the box, but the referee waved away penalty appeals.

With City in control, Ipswich has a mountain to climb in the second half if they hope to salvage anything from this match.

Line-ups

Man City XI: De Bruyne, Kovacic, Ederson, Ruben Dias, Bernardo, Akanji, Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Josko Gvardiol, Rico Lewis, Savinho

Subs: Walker, Gundogan, Stefan Ortega, Ake, Stones, Grealish, Matheus Nunes, Issa Kaboré, James McAtee

Ipswich Town XI: Sam Morsy, M. Luongo, Sammie Szmodics, Tuanzebe, Ben Johnson, Arijanet Muric, Luke Woolfenden, Leif Davis, Jacob Greaves, Liam Delap, Omari Hutchinson

Subs: Conor Townsend, Christian Walton, Marcus Harness, Cameron Burgess, Conor Chaplin, George Edmundson, Jens Cajuste, Ali Al-Hamadi, Jack Taylor