According to a report published by BBC Sport on Saturday, October 17, 2026, Manchester City continued their dominant beginning to the Premier League campaign with a 3-2 win against newly promoted Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium.

The victory marked City’s seventh successive win to start the season and extended their unbeaten Premier League run against promoted clubs to 32 matches. Nevertheless, Ipswich put up a strong fight and challenged Enzo Maresca’s team throughout an entertaining encounter.

The match began against a backdrop of supporter protests, as Manchester City hosted their first Premier League home game since being found guilty of more than 100 financial breaches. Fans booed the league anthem before kick-off, but the home side gradually settled and began to threaten the visitors’ goal.

Ruben Dias was among the first players to test Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton, whose impressive save kept the score level. City eventually took the lead when Jeremy Doku delivered a cross into the box and Phil Foden converted the opportunity to put the champions in front.

Ipswich quickly restored parity through a well-executed attacking move. Abdoul Ouattara sent a precise pass behind Marc Guehi, enabling Daizen Maeda to break into the penalty area and calmly beat the goalkeeper to make the score 1-1.

The visitors continued to threaten, with Emersonn narrowly missing an opportunity to put them ahead. Manchester City responded by reclaiming the lead through Haaland, who rose inside the penalty area to connect with Mateo Kovacic’s cross and direct a header into the net.

City almost scored a third before half-time when Ruben Dias unleashed another effort, but Walton made a crucial save to keep Ipswich in the contest.

The second half saw both teams continue their search for additional goals. Emersonn and Nico O’Reilly failed to find the target with their headers, while Enzo Fernandez squandered a promising opportunity when his long-range free-kick from around 25 yards went over the crossbar.

Haaland then delivered another decisive moment by scoring his second goal of the match. The Norwegian forward found space through the centre of Ipswich’s defence and finished confidently, extending Manchester City’s lead to 3-1.

Despite trailing by two goals, Ipswich continued to fight for a result and managed to reduce the deficit late in the game. Zian Flemming stepped up to take a penalty and converted successfully, bringing the score to 3-2 and giving the visitors renewed hope.

Haaland subsequently appeared to have scored his third goal, which would have completed his hat-trick. However, a VAR review ruled out the effort, denying the striker the opportunity to claim the match ball.

Manchester City ultimately held on to secure all three points, preserving their perfect start to the Premier League season. Haaland’s two goals proved crucial in helping the reigning champions overcome a resilient Ipswich side.