ERLING HAALAND STRUCK twice as defiant Manchester City marched on at the top of the Premier League by holding on for a 3-2 win over Ipswich.
Phil Foden was also on target at the Etihad Stadium, but City needed to survive a nervy finish after a Zian Flemming penalty gave the visitors late hope.
It was City’s second successive league victory since the club were found guilty of serious breaches of the competition’s financial regulations last month.
It also maintained their 100% start to the campaign under new manager Enzo Maresca and lifted them six points clear of champions Arsenal at the top of the table.
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Promoted Ipswich rallied to cancel out Foden’s opener through Daizen Maeda, but Haaland’s double, taking his tally for the campaign to 12 in all competitions, looked to have reasserted City’s authority.
The Norwegian was denied a hat-trick by VAR, and the game ended in frantic fashion, but City had done enough.
The stands were awash with inflatable bananas throughout as City’s supporters continued to show their backing for the club during their ongoing crisis.
The blow-up fruit – a throwback to a craze from the 1980s and 90s – has quickly come to symbolise their defiance and the team have also remained unfazed.
Ipswich Town's Zian Flemming scores his side's second goal from the penalty spot. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
City captain Rúben Dias forced an early save from Christian Walton but the Ipswich goalkeeper could not prevent Foden giving the hosts the lead on 19 minutes.
Jeremy Doku cut inside from the left and pulled back for Foden who, in his first appearance since his red card at Old Trafford last month, turned home from eight yards.
City’s lead lasted just two minutes as Abdoul Ouattara released Maeda with a well-weighted ball down the right.
The pass arced around the backtracking Marc Guehi and Maeda outpaced and out muscled the England centre-back to seize possession and sit Gianluigi Donnarumma down with a composed finish.
Emersonn missed the target from another Ipswich attack, but City regained their lead on 34 minutes when Mateo Kovacic reached the byline and pulled back for Haaland to power a header through Walton’s grasp.
Dias then forced another save from Walton while Haaland, Iliman Ndiaye and Doku all had shots blocked in a strong finish to the first half.
Nico O’Reilly went close after the restart with a header from a corner, but Haaland made no mistake to grab his second on 69 minutes.
Ndiaye created the opportunity with a strong run from deep before playing in the striker with a defence-splitting pass. Ouattara could not keep his footing as Haaland skipped past him and coolly beat Walton.
Haaland thought he had claimed a hat-trick and put the game beyond doubt when he volleyed home after an Ndiaye shot had hit the bar, but his strike was disallowed by VAR for offside against Enzo Fernández.
VAR intervened again moments later, changing the mood of the game when Guehi was ruled to have fouled Abdul Fatawu in the area.
Flemming clinically dispatched the resulting penalty and Ipswich fans cheered again when it was revealed there would be 12 minutes of added time, but City held firm.
Fulham’s winless run under Alvaro Arbeloa was finally ended by an entertaining one-goal victory over Hull at Craven Cottage.
Alex Iwobi struck the winner in the 33rd minute to lift the home side off the foot of the Premier League table and out of the bottom three, though goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis will wonder how he ever let the shot spill through him.
It meant valuable breathing room for Arbeloa, whose position had come under scrutiny after failing to win any of his first six league matches in charge, though a red card in the final seconds for Ryan Sessegnon for leaving his studs on Robinio Vaz marred the afternoon.
Fulham had dropped eight points from winning positions this season, including five when they had led inside the final two minutes, and their wastefulness after going in front was alarming, if not ultimately costly.
Gonzalo Garcia in particular spurned a golden opportunity when he headed against the crossbar with the six-yard box to himself. It was the kind of chance the former Real Madrid striker was brought in to bury, and Fulham may yet find their position remains perilous if they continue to give up chances like this.
Hull were a pale impression of the team that had begun the season with such attacking ambition, and the passiveness with which they approached a game against the side propping up the league will have been of concern for Sergej Jakirovic.
Fulham dominated from the start and went close when Iwobi’s shot was deflected on to the roof of the net in the third minute.
The hosts were playing like a team desperate for a win, with Oscar Bobb and Timothy Castagne in particular menacing Hull down their left.
The breakthrough came just after the half hour. Brooke Norton-Cuffy’s clearance was poor and from there Hull never recovered. Sander Berge took possession and knocked it back to the edge of the box for Iwobi, whose driven finish squirmed through the body of Tzolakis. The goalkeeper could point to a slight deflection, but it was a poor error.
In the second half, Tzolakis partially redeemed himself with a good save with his feet to deny Josh King, after Semi Ajayi had played his team into a mess with an awful pass out of defence.
Fulham were beginning to show what they were capable of. King’s touch on the hour to spin away from Ajayi was a delight. The 19-year-old then drove forward and crossed for Garcia to head into the path of Iwobi, and only a magnificent save from Tzolakis denied the Cottagers what would have surely been one of the goals of the season.
Iwobi came close again with a curling effort that dropped just wide of the near post.
Hull were clinging on, but all the while the spectre of dropped points hung over Fulham as long as the second goal eluded them.
Nervousness around the ground intensified after Garcia planted a free header against the crossbar from six yards.
But they held on despite Sessegnon, on as a late substitute, being dismissed with virtually the last action, though there was clearly no violent intent behind his challenge on Vaz.
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Haaland scores twice as Man City hang on against Ipswich, Fulham win eases pressure on Arbeloa
Manchester City 3
Ipswich Town 2
ERLING HAALAND STRUCK twice as defiant Manchester City marched on at the top of the Premier League by holding on for a 3-2 win over Ipswich.
Phil Foden was also on target at the Etihad Stadium, but City needed to survive a nervy finish after a Zian Flemming penalty gave the visitors late hope.
It was City’s second successive league victory since the club were found guilty of serious breaches of the competition’s financial regulations last month.
It also maintained their 100% start to the campaign under new manager Enzo Maresca and lifted them six points clear of champions Arsenal at the top of the table.
Promoted Ipswich rallied to cancel out Foden’s opener through Daizen Maeda, but Haaland’s double, taking his tally for the campaign to 12 in all competitions, looked to have reasserted City’s authority.
The Norwegian was denied a hat-trick by VAR, and the game ended in frantic fashion, but City had done enough.
The stands were awash with inflatable bananas throughout as City’s supporters continued to show their backing for the club during their ongoing crisis.
The blow-up fruit – a throwback to a craze from the 1980s and 90s – has quickly come to symbolise their defiance and the team have also remained unfazed.
City captain Rúben Dias forced an early save from Christian Walton but the Ipswich goalkeeper could not prevent Foden giving the hosts the lead on 19 minutes.
Jeremy Doku cut inside from the left and pulled back for Foden who, in his first appearance since his red card at Old Trafford last month, turned home from eight yards.
City’s lead lasted just two minutes as Abdoul Ouattara released Maeda with a well-weighted ball down the right.
The pass arced around the backtracking Marc Guehi and Maeda outpaced and out muscled the England centre-back to seize possession and sit Gianluigi Donnarumma down with a composed finish.
Emersonn missed the target from another Ipswich attack, but City regained their lead on 34 minutes when Mateo Kovacic reached the byline and pulled back for Haaland to power a header through Walton’s grasp.
Dias then forced another save from Walton while Haaland, Iliman Ndiaye and Doku all had shots blocked in a strong finish to the first half.
Nico O’Reilly went close after the restart with a header from a corner, but Haaland made no mistake to grab his second on 69 minutes.
Ndiaye created the opportunity with a strong run from deep before playing in the striker with a defence-splitting pass. Ouattara could not keep his footing as Haaland skipped past him and coolly beat Walton.
Haaland thought he had claimed a hat-trick and put the game beyond doubt when he volleyed home after an Ndiaye shot had hit the bar, but his strike was disallowed by VAR for offside against Enzo Fernández.
VAR intervened again moments later, changing the mood of the game when Guehi was ruled to have fouled Abdul Fatawu in the area.
Flemming clinically dispatched the resulting penalty and Ipswich fans cheered again when it was revealed there would be 12 minutes of added time, but City held firm.
Fulham 1
Hull City 0
Fulham’s winless run under Alvaro Arbeloa was finally ended by an entertaining one-goal victory over Hull at Craven Cottage.
Alex Iwobi struck the winner in the 33rd minute to lift the home side off the foot of the Premier League table and out of the bottom three, though goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis will wonder how he ever let the shot spill through him.
It meant valuable breathing room for Arbeloa, whose position had come under scrutiny after failing to win any of his first six league matches in charge, though a red card in the final seconds for Ryan Sessegnon for leaving his studs on Robinio Vaz marred the afternoon.
Fulham had dropped eight points from winning positions this season, including five when they had led inside the final two minutes, and their wastefulness after going in front was alarming, if not ultimately costly.
Gonzalo Garcia in particular spurned a golden opportunity when he headed against the crossbar with the six-yard box to himself. It was the kind of chance the former Real Madrid striker was brought in to bury, and Fulham may yet find their position remains perilous if they continue to give up chances like this.
Hull were a pale impression of the team that had begun the season with such attacking ambition, and the passiveness with which they approached a game against the side propping up the league will have been of concern for Sergej Jakirovic.
Fulham dominated from the start and went close when Iwobi’s shot was deflected on to the roof of the net in the third minute.
The hosts were playing like a team desperate for a win, with Oscar Bobb and Timothy Castagne in particular menacing Hull down their left.
The breakthrough came just after the half hour. Brooke Norton-Cuffy’s clearance was poor and from there Hull never recovered. Sander Berge took possession and knocked it back to the edge of the box for Iwobi, whose driven finish squirmed through the body of Tzolakis. The goalkeeper could point to a slight deflection, but it was a poor error.
In the second half, Tzolakis partially redeemed himself with a good save with his feet to deny Josh King, after Semi Ajayi had played his team into a mess with an awful pass out of defence.
Fulham were beginning to show what they were capable of. King’s touch on the hour to spin away from Ajayi was a delight. The 19-year-old then drove forward and crossed for Garcia to head into the path of Iwobi, and only a magnificent save from Tzolakis denied the Cottagers what would have surely been one of the goals of the season.
Iwobi came close again with a curling effort that dropped just wide of the near post.
Hull were clinging on, but all the while the spectre of dropped points hung over Fulham as long as the second goal eluded them.
Nervousness around the ground intensified after Garcia planted a free header against the crossbar from six yards.
But they held on despite Sessegnon, on as a late substitute, being dismissed with virtually the last action, though there was clearly no violent intent behind his challenge on Vaz.
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Man City Premier League Table Toppers