Phil Foden scored twice and Erling Haaland celebrated his new contract with another goal as Manchester City thrashed Ipswich this afternoon.
City regained their best form at Portman Road although Ipswich offered little resistance in a one-sided encounter.
Foden, who also scored twice in the 2-2 draw with Brentford in midweek, opened the scoring and Mateo Kovacic doubled City's lead on the half-hour mark.
Foden made it 3-0 before half-time and goals from the impressive Jeremy Doku, Haaland, who signed a nine-and-a-half-year contract on Friday, and James McAtee completed the rout.
Manchester City has five!
Erling Haaland registers his name on the scorers list 📋 pic.twitter.com/tLqFQhHGfM
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
It has been a sad afternoon for Ipswich, who remain in the relegation zone after suffering their 12th defeat in 22 games since promotion. The scale of City's win saw them leap above Newcastle into fourth place.
The city is on the charge
City's woeful pre-Christmas form now seems a distant memory, although they have left their improvement too late to challenge for the title.
Foden admitted as much in the build-up and it looked as if City were playing with an element of freedom as they raced towards the hosts from the start.
Haaland was supposed to open the scoring after 14 minutes, but Christian Walton made a good save after Kovacic's wonderful through pass.
Kovacic then fired over the bar to keep City ahead and it was no surprise when they took the lead after 27 minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne was the architect, taking a pass from Doku and crossing for Foden to control and fire a left-footed shot past Walton.
Kovacic added the second goal three minutes later with a powerful shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
De Bruyne fired a shot over the bar before the Belgian set up Foden's second in an almost carbon copy of his first, the England international sending in a cross from the left wing.
Phil Foden doubles his tally 💥
Manchester City riots in East Anglia! pic.twitter.com/Bj67biie9f
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
The defeat continued after the break
Ederson made a good save from Ben Johnson in a rare foray for Ipswich before City added a fourth with their next attack. Doku, whose pace and power had tormented Ipswich all afternoon, cut in from the left and fired a shot off Dara O'Shea's foot on its way past Walton.
The last thing Ipswich wanted was to lend a helping hand to a rampant Town but that's exactly what Jack Clarke did after 57 minutes.
The winger struggled to make an impression at Portman Road following his summer move from Sunderland, and did little to endear himself to the home fans with a poor cross that Doku intercepted and crossed for Haaland to slot home.
With the points in the bag, Pep Guardiola pulled on De Bruyne, Haaland and Foden, and one of the substitutes quickly scored City's sixth goal, with McAtee nodding in Kovacic's brilliant pass.
