Two goals for Haaland and a late scare

Phil Foden gave Manchester City the lead in the 19th minute, finishing a pass from Jeremy Doku, but Daizen Maeda levelled for Ipswich within two minutes. Erling Haaland put City back in front in the 34th minute with a header, then scored again in the second half to make it 3-1. Zian Flemming converted a penalty in the 90th minute to give the visitors late hope, and VAR denied Haaland a hat-trick. City held on for the win.

Injury worries

Haaland left the pitch with a heavy limp, and after the final whistle he told manager Enzo Maresca that he was OK. Maresca said he had asked the striker about a possible knee problem, but he could add few details beyond that.

“I asked him and he said he was okay so hopefully it is nothing serious.”

Evening Standard noted that this was the second full 90 minutes Haaland had played in four days, after he played 80 minutes against Liverpool the previous weekend and made four appearances for Norway during the international break. Maresca had already said Haaland's minutes would need to be managed carefully, and he had rested several players, with Semenyo, Enzo Fernandez, Ryan Cherki, Josko Gvardiol and Elliot Anderson named among the substitutes.

Semenyo and the rest of the squad

Antoine Semenyo also left the pitch limping. Evening Standard reported that he appeared to pick up a knock to his knee after coming off the bench with about 15 minutes to play, and that he had played 90 minutes in each of City's last two games. Maresca said Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Haaland had all told him they were OK, while Nico O'Reilly still had the back problem he picked up in the warm-up before the Coventry game. Semenyo was the only player Maresca said still needed to be assessed.

Table, fixtures and off-field limbo

City sit top after seven matches with 21 points, six clear of champions Arsenal. Their next fixtures include the Champions League match against AEK Athens and a trip to Aston Villa, while they host Brighton twice in one week, in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League, before the end of October. Elsewhere, Alex Iwobi scored the only goal as Fulham beat Hull City 1-0 in the 33rd minute, lifting Fulham out of the bottom three.

The result came while the club await sanctions after being found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules last month, and while the club's appeal against that verdict is pending. Fans waved inflatable bananas throughout the match, a throwback to a 1980s and 90s craze that has become a symbol of the club's defiance.