Manchester City held off a stubborn Ipswich Town fightback to win 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, but the victory left Enzo Maresca with a lengthening casualty list just days before a Champions League trip to face AEK Athens.
Phil Foden put City ahead before Daizen Maeda levelled for the promoted visitors, and it was Erling Haaland who settled the contest with two well-taken finishes either side of the interval. The goals took his tally for the season to 12 goals as City recorded a seventh successive Premier League win to start the campaign.
The Norwegian was denied a hat-trick by VAR before hobbling straight down the tunnel late on after appearing to hurt his foot in a challenge with Ipswich substitute Jack Clarke.
Haaland was not the only concern for the home side. Mateo Kovačić was withdrawn and replaced by Enzo Fernández after picking up a problem. Matheus Nunes went down injured in the 75th minute and received treatment before being replaced by Abdukodir Khusanov.
Nico O’Reilly also came off, and Antoine Semenyo, introduced from the bench, appeared to pick up a knee injury of his own in the closing stages and was still clearly struggling at the final whistle.
Maresca cautious on the extent of the damage
Speaking afterwards, Maresca admitted he did not yet have clarity on most of the knocks picked up during a chaotic 10-minute spell in the second half.
“Unfortunately in 10 minutes we had four or five players – Matheus, Kova, Erling, Antoine, and Nico – but they are inside now,” he said, adding that he had no fresh information to share at that stage.
On O’Reilly, the head coach explained the issue was a recurrence of a back problem that first flared up before the Coventry game, and he singled out Semenyo as the player causing the most uncertainty.
“It’s still the same problem. The only one we need to wait on is Antoine,” Maresca said, with the club now facing a nervous wait ahead of Thursday’s Champions League fixture and a trip to Aston Villa the following weekend.
The result means Maresca has made history of his own. The win over Ipswich made him the first manager to win his opening seven Premier League matches in charge of a club, continuing a flawless start since succeeding Pep Guardiola at the Etihad over the summer.
Despite the landmark, the Italian was keener to reflect on the backing he received from the stands than on his own record, describing a record attendance and a sense of unity around the club.
“The environment was very good,” Maresca said. “Today was a record in terms of attendance at the stadium, so that’s also a nice feeling. The fans, the club, the players are all together in this journey, and this is the best feeling for everyone.”
Attention now turns to the club’s medical staff, with four senior players needing to be assessed before Thursday’s Champions League visit of AEK Athens.
With City already contending with a congested fixture list and Haaland having logged heavy minutes for club and country over the past fortnight, Maresca may be forced into further squad rotation regardless of how the scans come back.
