After just seven matches, Enzo Maresca can claim a remarkable Premier League record. No manager in the competition’s history has won each of his first seven games in charge—not Carlo Ancelotti, José Mourinho or Arsène Wenger.
Given the way Manchester City’s alleged indiscretions are dominating the conversation, some may even wish that achievement could be removed from the record books. Whatever happens, it reflects an almost perfect start to life at the Etihad for an Italian coach whose credentials were questioned before he officially took the job—and again after an insignificant Community Shield loss to Arsenal with an under-strength side.
Maresca has also become the public face of the club’s response to the guilty verdicts, serving as the only member of the management team to discuss the potential consequences and City’s position on the record. Replacing the greatest manager in the club’s history would have been difficult enough. Navigating the off-field storm at the same time makes the challenge even greater, yet Maresca has impressed the City hierarchy in every department.
Manchester City will travel to Nottingham Forest on Sunday with a six-point advantage over Arsenal at the top of the table. The gap to Chelsea is eight points, while Liverpool sit nine points behind the leaders.
For Richard Masters and the Premier League board, the timing could hardly be more uncomfortable. With the next stage of the bitter legal battle approaching—an appeal that could reshape English football regardless of its outcome—City continue to collect victories. Their matches remain tense affairs, filled with danger, momentum swings and chances at both ends until the final whistle.
Curiously, City have dealt with some of the division’s established sides more comfortably than the ambitious newcomers. Maresca, meanwhile, continues to smile through the criticism. His team are scoring freely, conceding opportunities in return and producing some of the most entertaining football in the league. Gary O’Neil believed Ipswich Town deserved more from this contest, and plenty of viewers would share that assessment.
Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City defeated Ipswich 3-2 on Saturday
The result gave Enzo Maresca a place in Premier League history, with no previous manager winning his opening seven matches in charge
Haaland added another two goals to his tally—taking him to four for the season—against an Ipswich side newly promoted to the Premier League and capable of causing serious problems. The visitors squandered promising chances after the interval when the score was 2-1, including a notable opportunity for Emersonn, who headed wide after Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to deal with a corner.
Haaland appears almost impossible to contain, although he went directly down the tunnel after the final whistle with what looked like a knee problem. He had also appeared uncomfortable in the cold Manchester weather. Maresca later indicated that the striker was fine.
Some observers will view the celebratory mood as an act of defiance, while others will wonder why City supporters feel they need to be defiant at all. What is beyond doubt is that the developments of recent weeks have stirred a fanbase forced to study complex issues that no ordinary sports supporter should be expected to understand.
Then there were the bananas. Around 11,000 inflatable fruits were placed above seats, with many more sold outside the stadium. Reports late in the week suggested chief executive Ferran Soriano had hoped to secure 60,000 for the occasion, but limited supplies made that impossible.
The connection to the campaign was particularly entertaining: former striker Imre Varadi runs a business selling inflatable fruit. Although he was not responsible for starting the craze in the 1980s, Varadi has become closely associated with it, and City now source their banana-themed merchandise from him. He was invited into a hospitality box to watch the supporters raise them whenever a goal was scored.
The biggest reaction came when Haaland appeared to complete a late hat-trick, smashing a volley into the roof of Christian Walton’s net. The goal was eventually disallowed after VAR confirmed that Enzo Fernandez had been offside during the build-up.
Marc Guehi endured a difficult afternoon, while Gary O’Neil believed Ipswich had deserved a greater reward
Former director Txiki Begiristain attended the match to offer his support to his former club
The contest swung again in stoppage time. Marc Guehi, who had played a part in Ipswich’s earlier equaliser after Daizen Maeda escaped from a straightforward ball over the top, found himself on the wrong side of Abdul Fatawu. As the winger advanced towards goal, Guehi caught his calf. Referee Farai Hallam initially ignored the appeals, but VAR intervened and instructed him to review the incident before the decision was overturned.
Zian Flemming drove the resulting penalty straight down the middle, leaving Ipswich just one goal behind. Hallam, already unpopular with supporters following a match against Wolves at this ground last January, then announced an astonishing 12 minutes of added time, prompting disbelief around the stadium.
The game remained frantic from end to end. City pushed for a fourth rather than simply protecting their lead, while Donnarumma became tangled in his own net as he tried to punch away another corner. Every attack brought another gasp from the crowd.
Maresca clearly enjoys the spectacle, though he would surely prefer to see more of the control that had become a hallmark of this club. Former football director Txiki Begiristain watched alongside Hugo Viana in another show of support from City’s previous regime, but he would have witnessed little of this chaotic, end-to-end drama under the manager who came before.
Begiristain witnessed a positive afternoon for Phil Foden, sweeping in the 19th-minute opener beautifully from Jeremy Doku’s pass in a way we have seen so often down the years. He went off to a standing ovation and with a huge grin for the first time in a long time. Maheda struck back two minutes later before Haaland’s powerful header proved too hot for Walton just after the half hour.
It prompted ‘Dave from Liverpool’ to send a message into the BBC’s live text service to suggest that ‘City are just a midtable team without Haaland,’ which feels indicative of the collective loss of perspective in recent weeks. As it was, the goal was greeted by chants of ‘we are staying up’ before they completed fine renditions of a future spent travelling to Stockport County for league fixtures. That should stir some enthusiasm given the bounty of ale choices behind Edgeley Park’s Cheadle End and the town’s general upturn. It’s a pretty strong away day.
Haaland’s second – 12 for the season – saw him muscle Ouattara out of the way from the industrious Iliman Ndiaye’s pass and appeared to put the game beyond doubt, only for Ipswich to wrestle back in for what became a ridiculously nervous final passage. Say what you like about City but they are certainly not boring.
