Match Report and Player Ratings: Ipswich 0-6 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City prepared for a massive Champions League trip to PSG in the best possible way by taking full advantage of an open Ipswich to rack up a drubbing at Portman Road.

City were too hot to handle for their hosts to handle in the first-half and scored three quality goals, with Mateo Kovacic’s thumping drive sandwiched by a second brace in a single week for Phil Foden.

The rout was completed in the second-half with further strikes from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and James McAtee, handing the Blues their biggest win of the league season and propelling them into the top-four.

The pattern of the first 10 minutes was ponderous City possession with Ipswich waiting to steal it and pounce, which they did to create the game’s first chance as Jack Clarke broke free and fed Liam Delap, but the former Blues striker saw his shot smothered by Josko Gvardiol.

Things sped up on the 15-minute mark, with Mateo Kovacic breaking through the lines and sliding an excellent through ball to Erling Haaland, but Chris Walton stood up to deny City’s man of the moment, before further chances for Jeremy Doku then Kovacic went begging too.

Ipswich couldn’t deal with the escalating pressure though, and the deadline was broken on 25 minutes, as Doku found De Bruyne in the half-space and the Belgian’s deflected pass perfectly teed up Foden to stroke home first time.

City were flowing as freely as they have at any point this season, and scored a second in the space of 180 seconds when Doku and Foden combined on the edge of the box to make space for Kovacic, and the Croatian unleashed a rasper past Walton before he knew the shot had been unleashed.

It had been a fantastic first half for the Blues made almost perfect when Foden added his second of the match before the break – de Bruyne was sharp in the tackle and exchanged passes with Doku, before picking out ‘The Sniper’ in almost exactly the same spot as he had for the first goal, with identical results.

City were relishing playing against a team with noble intentions but without the quality to match, and that was highlighted right at the start of the second half; straight after Omari Hutchinson had his shot saved by Ederson, City went straight up the other end and Doku scored via a flick off Dara O’Shea.

All that was missing by then was a goal for the centre-forward, which duly arrived before an hour had elapsed – Doku seized on a woeful pass in the midfield and sprang Haaland, who offered what every City fan hopes will be a snapshot of the next 10 years by calmly finishing past Walton, who was quickly required to save again and deny the Norwegian a brace.

Pep Guardiola took the opportunity to offer his most important stars a rest before their crucial Champions League tie, and it was testament to how good a day it was for the Blues that one of the replacements immediately added his own name to the scoresheet, as James McAtee looped in a header from Kovacic’s cross around five minutes after his introduction from the bench.

Ipswich may have feared being on the end of record-threatening levels of drubbing at that point, but the runaway City train slowed down from there and chose to play out their comfortable win in style.

Here’s how we rated the individual performances of the players in Manchester City’s mesmerising dismantling of Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon!

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Ederson – 7

One of his quieter Premier League afternoons this term, but kept his concentration for the rare occasion he was called upon.

Manuel Akanji – 7

Has visibly struggled when faced with quick attacks in recent weeks, so will have been relieved at the lack of threat offered by Ipswich, allowing him to coast through the 70 minutes he played.

Ruben Dias – 7

Couldn’t have asked for a more ideal game to return to after a month out. Might have been a little worried after Liam Delap threatened him briefly at first, but those concerns quickly abated.

Josko Gvardiol – 8

Delighted in beating Ipswich’s press and getting City moving through the gears moving forward. Didn’t trouble the scoresheet himself but was key to allowing the Blues to get into so many scoring positions.

Matheus Nunes – 7.5

Looked nervy in the early proceedings but settled as Ipswich’s threat waned. Pushed up on the right wing to allow Foden to move inside.

Mateo Kovacic – 9

Showed just how good he can be in a team functioning smoothly. One of the best players in the Premier League at carrying the ball through the midfield lines to turn defence into attack and he did it relentlessly this afternoon, adding cherries on top in the form of a lovely goal and assist combo.

Ilkay Gundogan – 8.5

One of his best matches since returning to the club. His declining ability to sniff out midfield danger and win second balls has been one of the major disappointments in his season, but he rolled back the years today to put out every fire and keep City perennially on the front foot.

Kevin de Bruyne – 9

Relished the chance to maraud through the pitch on transition and picked up where he left off against Brentford. A fountain of creativity and was at the centre of three of the goals before being rested.

Phil Foden – 9 (MOTM)

He’s back. Recovered his poaching prowess at Brentford and put it to good use again here, snaffling up his chances in the box and spraying the ball around confidently otherwise, earning his status as one of the first three to be afforded a break on the bench.

Erling Haaland – 7.5

Completed the trio that Pep Guardiola clearly feels it is most important to have fully rested before the PSG game. Marked the first game since his mammoth contract extension with a well-taken goal and good all-round hour of football.

Jeremy Doku – 9

We saw how much he enjoys having time and space to attack his full-back in the Salford City game, and he grasped that chance again here. Knew exactly when to release the ball, as he did to help create Haaland’s strike and both of Foden’s, and when to shoot himself, earning a richly-deserved goal.

Substitutes

James McAtee – 7

Eager to impress and did so by flicking in a headed goal and buzzing around brightly.

Jack Grealish – 6.5

Might have seen this as his opportunity to fill his boots and stake a claim to a starting spot, but instead chose to slot into the possession play and keep it all sensible.

Divin Mubama – 6.5

A few strong pieces of hold-up play suggest he may not be too far off being ready to compete at this level.

Rico Lewis – 6.5

Moved into all sorts of positions to accommodate the possession play.

Nico O’Reilly – 6.5

Had some Kovacic-esque runs with the ball.