MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland struck a hat-trick as Manchester City bounced back from conceding a shock opening goal to beat newly-promoted Ipswich 4-1 on Saturday.
Sammie Szmodics had given the visitors a dream start at the Etihad, but order was quickly restored as City struck three times in four minutes through Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.
The Norwegian then fired in from outside the box late on to complete his seventh Premier League hat-trick in just 68 games.
Victory takes City top of the table with a maximum six points from the opening two games of their title defense.
There was a mood of celebration before kick-off as City marked their fourth consecutive league title and welcomed back former captain Ilkay Gundogan, who took his place on the bench.
Yet, the champions were stunned with just seven minutes on the clock.
Ben Johnson’s pass split a static City defense and Szmodics shot had just enough power to beat Ederson to register Ipswich’s first top-flight goal in 22 years.
Kieran McKenna’s men have been given a baptism of fire by facing Liverpool and City in their opening two matches and the gap in quality between the Championship and Premier League quickly showed.
The lively Savinho won a penalty on his home debut, which was duly converted by Haaland to level.
Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric had a return to the Etihad to forget as he was then caught in possession by Savinho, who teed up De Bruyne to roll into an empty net.
Haaland beat Muric to a sumptuous De Bruyne ball over the top and stroked into the unguarded net.
De Bruyne smashed a shot from range off the crossbar as City threatened to run riot.
But to Ipswich’s credit they held out for over an hour before Haaland set the seal on another ruthless personal display and three points.
Erling Haaland hits hat-trick as Manchester City put Ipswich to the sword
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Erling Haaland hits hat-trick as Manchester City put Ipswich to the sword
- Szmodics shot had just enough power to beat Ederson to register Ipswich’s first top-flight goal in 22 years for a shock opener
- City bounced back and asserted dominance afterward
Pakistan captain rules out ‘major’ squad changes before T20 World Cup 2026
- T20 World Cup will take place in India in February, with Pakistan to play its matches in Sri Lanka
- Pakistan have recorded back-to-back T20I series victories over Sri Lanka, South Africa this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha set his sights on winning the T20 World Cup 2026, ruling out any “major changes” to the squad before the megaevent next year.
The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup will commence on Feb. 7 next year in India. Pakistan will play all of its matches in Sri Lanka as per a deal brokered by the ICC that allows India and Pakistan to play each other at neutral venues.
Pakistan have tried left-arm pacer Salman Mirza, brought back former captain Babar Azam to the T20I squad and tried fast bowler Naseem Shah and played several all-rounders in the squad this year, including Saim Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.
“I think our roles are defined and we need to give a chance in the next six games with consistency to this playing XI and those roles, so that we can head to the World Cup with confidence,” Agha said in a podcast with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“I don’t think there will be any major changes because we were keeping this World Cup in mind since the last six to seven months in the way we were practicing or selecting the players for the team,” he added.
Pakistan will next play a three-match T20I away series against Sri Lanka before they head to the T20 World Cup.
The South Asian country has encountered success in white-ball matches recently, winning a tri-nation series tournament against Afghanistan and the UAE in September.
Agha also led his team to the final of the Asia Cup later the same month which they lost to India. However, he led the Green Shirts to wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa in the T20I series against both countries at home later.
