Manchester City 6 Ipswich Town 0: City player ratings as City demolish the Tractor Boys | OneFootball

Manchester City 6 (Phil Foden 27′, 42′, Mateo Kovacic 30′, Jeremy Doku 49′, Erling Haaland 57′, James McAtee 69′)

Ipswich Town 0

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City ruthlessly dismantled Ipswich Town 6-nil at Portman Road. The win saw Pep Guardiola’s side move into the top four but more importantly, it was a performance that resembled Manchester City at their best.

Ruben Dias returned to the starting lineup for Manchester City today and his presence at the back did make a difference. Kyle Walker was again not in the Manchester City squad as he appears set to leave the club in the coming days. Here are the City player ratings and match report from Portman Road.

First half

The opening 15 minutes passed by quickly and the pattern of the game appeared set. Ipswich Town looked to hit City on the counter with their pace up front and Pep Guardiola’s side looked to control possession and pick apart the hosts.

The first big chance of the game fell to Erling Haaland in the 15th minute. A well-worked move from the world champions saw Mateo Kovacic play in Haaland. City’s number 9 was played clean through but his shot was well saved by Ipswich Town keeper Christian Walton. Mateo Kovacic then fired a shot from a good position over the bar a minute later as City looked to up the ante.

Ipswich Town created their best chance in the 24th minute. A well-worked set-piece routine saw Omari Hutchinson have a strike on goal from just outside the area, which was deflected over by Erling Haaland. From the resulting corner, a free header from Dara O’Shea was well-collected by Ederson.

In the 27th minute, Manchester City would take the lead. Some good work from Jeremy Doku played in Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian international dinked in a nice cross to Phil Foden who turned and fired City into the lead.

Manchester City would double their lead at the half-hour mark. A well-constructed City move allowed Phil Foden to tee up Mateo Kovacic to shoot from the edge of the area. His low rocket easily beat Walton in the Ipswich Town goal to double City’s lead.

In the 42nd minute, Phil Foden made it 3-nil. A free-flowing move saw Jeremy Doku play in Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne has the time to easily pick out Foden whose shot squeezed under Christian Walton to give Pep Guardiola’s side a three-goal lead.

At the interval, Manchester City would go in with a 3-nil lead. In all honesty, that was City’s best performance for some time, and they thoroughly deserved their lead.

Second half

The second half kicked off with Ipswich Town trying to get back into the game. Some fine play from Liam Delap create a chance for Ben Johnson in the 48yh minute after a nice ball but his shot was well-saved by Ederson. A minute later, Jeremy Doku would make it 4-nil after he cut in from the left wing, and his strike hit the back of the net after a deflection off of Dara O’Shea. From the scoreline almost being back to 3-1, City made it 4-nil, and Doku’s goal did appear to put the game to bed.

In the 57th minute, Erling Haaland would make it 5-nil. Jeremy Doku seized upon an errant pass from Jack Clarke in midfield. He surged at the Ipswich Town defence and played a beautifully weighted ball into Haaland, who easily finished the move past Christian Walton to make it 5.

James McAtee would make it 6-nil in the 69th minute. A driving run by Ilkay Gundogan set up the goal. Gundogan made a surging run and played a simple ball to Mateo Kovacic. Kovacic played in a beautiful ball from midfield into the area and James McAtee finished the move with a sublime header. It was a fantastic goal and credit had to go to Ilkay Gundogan for his run to set the move up.

Following James McAtee’s goal the game played out without much incident. Both teams did what they had to do to get to the final whistle. But today’s performance was one of Manchester City’s best for some time. They ruthlessly dispatched Ipswich Town, and with the win, they climbed back into the top four and are now unbeaten in 6 games in all competitions.

The City player ratings reflect City’s dominance at Portman Road in a win that will provide a confidence boost to Pep Guardiola’s side ahead of their trip to face PSG in Champions League action on Wednesday evening.

City player ratings

Ederson-7/10: Made one save of note, but he was good in possession, and he was a calming presence in goal for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Matheus Nunes-7/10: Played well at right-back. Made a nervy start to the game but grew into the match. Has done well at right-back of late.

Manuel Akanji-7/10: Played well at the back and quietly went about his work.

Ruben Dias-7.5/10: He made one crucial block early and his presence does make Manchester City a better team.

Josko Gvardiol-7/10: He played well against Brentford and he was good again today.

Mateo Kovacic-9/10: Scored one and also picked up an assist. Alongside Ilkay Gundogan he dictated the midfield battle and played a key role in City’s massive win.

Ilkay Gundogan-8.5/10: Gundogan’s best performance of the season. Alongside Mateo Kovacic, he dictated the midfield battle and his run to set up City’s sixth goal of the game was brilliant.

Kevin De Bruyne-8.5/10: A fantastic performance again from De Bruyne. He picked up two assists and his link-up play with Doku was a highlight of the game.

Phil Foden-9/10: Foden grabbed a brace before being substituted. He is now back to his best and Manchester City are a better team when he is firing.

Jeremy Doku-9.5/10: Doku was Manchester City’s man-of-the-match for me. Scored one, set up Haaland’s goal and his link up play with De Bruyne was brilliant in the first half.

Erling Haaland-7.5/10: He scored one, but on another day, he could’ve scored a hat trick. His link-up play was great in a good performance from Haaland after he signed his mammoth contract extension earlier this week.

Substitutes

Jack Grealish-6/10: He came on with the game won and helped City see out the final stages of the game.

James McAtee-7/10: Scored his first Premier League goal with a beautiful header.

Divin Mubama-6/10: There is a player there with Mubama. Put himself about while he was on.

Nico O’Reilly-6/10: Showed some flashes of his undoubted talent.

Rico Lewis- 6/10: Like Grealish, he helped City close out the game’s final moments.