Man City are back and so is Phil Foden
“City are back,” sang the Manchester City fans and this was the most compelling piece of evidence that, finally, they are. Phil Foden, with two goals and an assist, certainly is. And what a difference a fully fit Kevin De Bruyne, with three assists, makes.
It was also scintillating from Jeremy Doku who was involved in five of the goals, scoring one, as he showed just how much work Jack Grealish has to do to get into the team given the competition the England international already faces from Savinho.
Eventually Doku and Grealish were on the pitch together, with the latter replacing Foden after City went 5-0 up as Pep Guardiola rested him, De Bruyne and Erling Haaland before Wednesday’s vital Champions League tie away to Paris Saint-Germain.
The manager called the game in Paris a “final” as City struggle to qualify for the knock-out stages and he had a swipe at having to play on a Sunday – PSG’s league fixture was on Saturday – and with a long trip to Suffolk. But, in truth, this was the perfect workout.
Above all it was Foden who summed up how different this City felt from the one that has shocked us of late. “It is good to see me back scoring goals with a smile on my face and enjoying football,” the 24-year-old said, alluding to his physical struggles through injury and illness but also unexplained off-field issues which have troubled him.
“I want to keep going and adding to that. You never know what can happen. The aim is to stay in the top four,” Foden added.
Never know what will happen? Well, they couldn’t, could they? We know City can embark on devastating runs. But surely not? Surely, this time, the Premier League title has gone? But who would actually bet against them finishing second behind Liverpool?
“We are back to doing things that define this team for the last 10 years,” Guardiola declared. “Maybe not our best but closer.” A lot closer, it appeared and he looked relieved to see this version of Foden, adding that maybe he, like Haaland, deserves a nine-and-a-half-year contract.
“There is nobody who desires more than me to see a one-club man finish his career here for many, many years,” Guardiola said.
“When he is smiling every game is two goals, two goals, two goals… he has goals in his mind. We talk a lot the last two to three months, he was a completely different boy, he arrived at the beginning of the season and struggled with problems. They are human beings, sometimes when you have the long, long careers you have setbacks.”
And so as we approach the business end of the season, that sound you suddenly hear is Guardiola and Co revving the engines. Ipswich Town had no chance as they conceded six for the first time in 13 years – there are other battles to win if they are to avoid relegation – with the champions ruthlessly taking them apart. The points and the scoreline lift City back into that top four, on goal difference, having kicked the game off down in eighth.
Given the depth of their collapse it is extraordinary that they have so quickly returned to the Champions League places. If they play like this there is no doubt they will stay there.
All the pre-match talk had been of the Erling Haaland/Liam Delap match-up but it was Foden who stole the show. Maybe it is also the impending arrival of City’s new £50 million attacker Omar Marmoush – a centre-forward who can play wide – which has helped ‘Pep’ up City’s front-line. The Egyptian is set to fly to Manchester on Monday to complete the deal.
There were two first-half goals, both nimbly taken from De Bruyne cut-backs as he combined with Doku, and an assist for Foden who has now scored five times in his last three Premier League games – his first league goals of the campaign, in fact.
Even more importantly this was the Foden, all quicksilver movement and clever passing, who scooped all the player of the year awards last season as he appears to be fit and free of his troubles. The confidence almost visibly returned, his stride quickening as the goals went in.
The one concern for City is that they do not have enough fit defenders and they still do give up chances – and Ipswich could have scored before they did – but they are addressing that with their January targets of Abdukodir Khusanov, Andrea Cambiaso and Vitor Reis. It is beginning to look a little ominous again.
There was also a goal for Mateo Kovacic while, after the break, City were utterly dominant with Haaland, of course, scoring as well as Doku. It was rounded off with a first Premier League goal for James McAtee, another substitute, with a lovely cushioned header which had Haaland on his feet applauding from the bench.
“After the first goal their confidence and quality pulled away to a level we couldn’t cope with,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna admitted, describing City as “maybe still the best team in the world”.
In fact it was the 13th time City have scored at least six goals in a league game under Guardiola. Only Sir Alex Ferguson, with 14, has more. “You are going down with United,” their fans goaded Ipswich with Manchester United having lost 3-1 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion before kick-off. How the power has shifted in Manchester with City reasserting themselves once more.
07:10 PM GMT
Kieran McKenna’s verdict
We didn’t defend our box well enough, we made some errors and we opened up the game too much at times. We were punished by a top opponent. They were better than us in all aspects and we to keep striving to improve.
We know that, with the jump and the climb that we’ve made, there are going to be some difficult days. This is definitely one. But it’s 38 games and we’ve had so many positive performances this season.
We’ve got Liverpool away next, which is as hard as it gets at the moment, so we have to dig in and show a lot of humility and togetherness. We’ve had good results and we’ve got to keep pushing for more.
07:03 PM GMT
Pep Guardiola speaks
We did many of the things that have defined this team for the last decade. We’d lost a bit of our identity, partly because of injuries. The players have suffered a lot and I’m really pleased for them.
We’re not at our best but today was much better. Even in previous games that we won we were not good in some departments.
Our attacking play is related to how we play without the ball. We haven’t always been connected defensively but today we were.
Ipswich are a good team – they beat Chelsea and Spurs – and Liam (Delap) is a fantastic striker. The most important thing is that the players will recognise (the performance) – that is who they are.
The players know the standards. They know what they have done in the past; they know when they’ve played well or played badly. The pleasure in our job is not just to get three points – you have to enjoy it, whether you’re professional or an amateur. You can be in a theatre in London or in Sheffield; the people in Sheffield love what they do just as much.
Hopefully step by step we can get back to where we were.
"Much better" 💪
Pep Guardiola is really pleased with Manchester City's performance and result against Ipswich 😁 pic.twitter.com/9y0kVnDG8m— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
06:39 PM GMT
Phil Foden’s reaction
It’s probably our best performance this season in terms of all-round play, keeping possession, defending well.
[On his and City’s form] We’re building momentum. Keeping players fit is important – I’d put it down to that really.
The build-up play was good today, I thought Gundogan and Kova (Mateo Kovacic) were really important, how they broke the press and kept the ball.
[On his tough start to the season] I learned everything from it. It’s good to be back scoring goals and playing with a smile on my face. I wanna keep going now. It’s all seemed to change for me in front of goal – I think I was a bit unlucky before (the recent goals). If I keep arriving in the box, with the players we’ve got they’ll find me.
[What is City’s target?] Well you never know what can happen in football. At the moment we’re trying to stay in the top four; that’s the aim for now.
"One of our best performances this year!" 💪
Phil Foden reacts to Manchester City's ruthless 6-0 win over Ipswich 💬 pic.twitter.com/jqWPsleNBG— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
06:34 PM GMT
Back in the groove
06:25 PM GMT
City show some mercy, eventually
A bit of a “stop, stop he’s already dead” vibe after the sixth goal. There is an unwritten rule in American Football that it is very poor form to unnecessarily run up the score, usually once a team is ahead by 20 or more in the fourth quarter. Wonder if there is a secret informal point at which you ease off in football? Good case for six goals I reckon. A drubbing, a lot of fun, but not a total humiliation. Some olés from the home fans as Ipswich manage a run of around eight consecutive passes. Small pleasures.
06:23 PM GMT
FT: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
Manchester City move back into the top four after a serene thrashing of Ipswich at Portman Road. City were close to their world-dominating best and could probably have scored more.
In the end they settled for three in each half. There were two for Phil Foden and one apiece for Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and James McAtee.
It was always likely that, when they emerged from their miserable run of form, City would give someone in the Premier League a right hammering. Ipswich were the unlucky ones.
06:21 PM GMT
90 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
There will be three minutes of added despair for Ipswich.
06:17 PM GMT
87 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
Wednesday’s game in Paris will be a more revealing health check. But Pep Guardiola couldn’t have asked for much more than this today: six goals and, barring a late consolation, only their fourth clean sheet in the last 21 Premier League games.
06:15 PM GMT
83 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
City enjoy a keepball session, with at least 30 passes before Gundogan’s forward ball is intercepted. City win the ball back and start again.
06:08 PM GMT
79 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
Nunes is booked for bundling over Leif Davis. He didn’t think it was a foul, never mind worthy of a card.
06:06 PM GMT
77 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
Ipswich’s next game: Liverpool away.
06:04 PM GMT
75 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
Oh dear, this is becoming slightly embarrassing now. A small drip of home fans towards the exit after the sixth goal, now a sustained dribble. Not surprised given the witless defending for that goal, no way a defence should be unlocked so easily with a lofted pass from such a central position. We are a couple of months away from the 30 year anniversary of Ipswich losing 9-0 at Old Trafford. This could be heading in a similar direction. Pray for Sheeran, and Fisons chemicals.
06:03 PM GMT
74 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
I think City’s record away win is 7-0 at Reading in the FA Cup in 1968-69, though I’m not 100 per cent sure.
06:03 PM GMT
73 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6
A double substitution apiece.
Ipswich Jack Taylor and George Hirst for Delap, who actually played really well in the circumstances, and Hutchinson.
Man City Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly for Akanji and Kovacic.
05:59 PM GMT
Goal!
69 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 6 (McAtee) It’s six. Kovacic flips a beautiful pass over the defence towards McAtee, who beats Walton with a nonchalant looping header.
05:57 PM GMT
68 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 5
Mubama has a snapshot blocked after a smart turn on the edge of the area.
05:56 PM GMT
66 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 5
Those City substitutions are no surprise given the importance of that game in Paris. Those on the field still look hungry for goals, though; City have scored 15 in the last three games.
05:54 PM GMT
64 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 5
A triple substitution apiece.
Ipswich Jadon Philogene, newly signed from Aston Villa, Massimo Luongo and Axel Tuanzebe replace Jack Clarke, Sam Morsy and Ben Godfrey.
Man City Jack Grealish, James McAtee and Divin Mubama for Foden, Haaland and De Bruyne. City play PSG away in a huge game on Wednesday.
05:49 PM GMT
60 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 5
“We’re staying up,” sing the City fans with the correct mixture of sarcasm and glee. Ipswich onto the stubborn “Ipswich ‘til I die” variety of chants. A few whinges from the fans around me about their team’s lack of imagination in attack but mostly there is acceptance that they needed a good deal of luck and City to be doing their Ruben Amorim Man Utd impression today. Neither has happened and with 40 minutes left to play it feels like the rest of this game is not going to teach us much more.
05:49 PM GMT
59 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 5
Chance for Haaland! City are rampant could break the record for the biggest Premier League victory, , which is currently 9-0. Walton has just made a really good save from Haaland, with De Bruyne’s follow-up looping onto the roof of the net.
05:47 PM GMT
Goal!
57 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 5 (Haaland) The beast has been fed now! Doku reads Jack Clarke’s square pass and plays in Haaland, who runs round the ball and stuns a deliberate first-time finish over Walton. It’s his 112th goal for City; goodness knows how many he’ll end up with.
Manchester City have FIVE!
Erling Haaland gets his name on the scoresheet 📋 pic.twitter.com/tLqFQhHGfM— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
05:44 PM GMT
53 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 4
The match is over but City look into the mood for more. Goal difference isn’t an idle consideration - if they win 6-0 they will go above Newcastle into fourth. And there’s one particular blond beast in their team who has yet to be fed.
05:40 PM GMT
Goal!
49 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 4 (Doku) Jeremy Doku crackles inside from the left, away from Godfrey, and sidefoots a low shot across goal that is deflected into his own net by Godfrey. That might go down as an own-goal as I’m not sure Doku’s shot was on target. But he has played really well and made the chance with a typically menacing run.
"Jérémy Doku, a dancing delight!" 🎙
Manchester City have their fourth courtesy of the Belgian winger 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0R36gejBrT— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
05:39 PM GMT
48 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 3
Good save by Ederson! Delap and Hutchinson combine nicely to release Johnson, who drives a crisp low shot back across goal. Ederson gets down very smartly to beat it away and Dias helps complete the clearance.
05:38 PM GMT
48 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 3
Kovacic is a little fortunate not to be booked for a foul on Hutchinson, who was leading an Ipswich break.
05:35 PM GMT
46 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 3
Ipswich begin the second half.
05:21 PM GMT
Half-time verdict
Was planning to make the case for the next goal being interesting with this half time update, but Foden has made it less so. Concerning for Ipswich that he was one of around four viable options once De Bruyne was put though.
I suppose if you’re Ed Sheeran you are making the case for City’s fragility, their vulnerability to changes in momentum, the comparatively thing bench. But so far little evidence it is going to be another surprising crumpling from a strong position from Team Guardiola. They look keen and hungry today, and might look at the second half as a chance for as many of their players to score as possible.
05:18 PM GMT
HT: Ipswich 0 Man City 3
City are starting to look like themselves again. The outstanding Phil Foden scored two and made the other for Mateo Kovacic. Ipswich didn’t do a huge amount wrong; they were just outclassed.
05:17 PM GMT
45 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 3
One minute of added time. Ipswich look like they need a lie-down.
05:14 PM GMT
Goal!
42 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 3 (Foden) A lovely team goal finishes the contest before half-time. Doku played in the underlapping De Bruyne, whose head-up cutback found Foden at the near post. He sidefooted the ball through the diving Walton and into the net.
City are shredding Ipswich in the inside-left channel. That goal was very similar to one scored by Foden at Stamford Bridge in December 2020. City went into that game in hopeless form; they won 3-1, the first of 20 consecutive wins in all competitions. That’s not an exaggeration.
Phil Foden doubles his tally 💥
Manchester City are running riot in East Anglia! pic.twitter.com/Bj67biie9f— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
05:12 PM GMT
40 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 2
It was a relatively even game until the first goal but since then it’s been like watching the City of old; Ipswich just can’t get out.
05:10 PM GMT
Watch: Kovacic doubles City’s lead
Mateo Kovačić drills it in to double Manchester City's lead ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/5VsZgzljL1
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
05:09 PM GMT
38 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 2
De Bruyne misses a pretty good chance to make it three, driving over the bar from 16 yards after good play by Foden. City have got some of their swagger back, Foden especially.
05:07 PM GMT
36 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 2
Not yet half an hour gone and you sense this could get out of hand. There’s that cruelly clinical edge City have been largely missing for the past few months. Foden, visibly buoyed by his goal, operating with a speed and foot and deed which Ipswich can do little about. No messing about from Kovacic with the finish.
“Down with United,” sing the City fans, unnecessarily. Ipswich respond with something about not playing fairly and it is legally safer to state simply that Manchester City deny all charges, of everything, forever.
05:04 PM GMT
32 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 2
“You’re going down with United” is the chant currently emanating from the away end.
05:02 PM GMT
Goal!
30 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 2 (Kovacic) Bang bang! City might be back as well, certainly in attack. After a familiar, patient build-up, Foden tees up Kovacic on the edge of the D. He charges onto the ball and clatters a low shot past Walton. That’s emphatic.
05:00 PM GMT
29 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 1
Ederson makes a comfortable save from Delap’s long-range drive. Even so, Delap is giving the City defenders an uncomfortable afternoon.
04:58 PM GMT
Goal!
27 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 1 (Foden) City might not be back but Phil Foden certainly is. He has just scored his third goal of the week, a smart, close-range finish on the turn after controlling a short cross from De Bruyne.
Ipswich are cut apart as Phil Foden scores on his 200th start for Manchester City! pic.twitter.com/KSigHXQA2h
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
04:57 PM GMT
25 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
The resulting corner, taken by Johnson, is headed straight at Ederson by the leaping O’Shea. He had to lean backwards and strain his neck muscles but it was still half a chance.
04:55 PM GMT
24 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
Delap barrels down the left and is shoved over needlessly by Nunes. Or maybe it was Kovacic, they both tried to stop him.
Ipswich work the free-kick cleverly, with Davis picking out Hutchinson in the D. His rasping shot takes a slight touch off Haaland and flies just over the bar.
04:54 PM GMT
22 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
The game has quietened down after that City flurry. It’s a bit of a surprise to see that the possession stats were 50/50 in the first 20 minutes.
04:53 PM GMT
20 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
“Ten more years, ten more years Erling Haaland,” chant the Manchester City fans but the striker - who has just signed that extraordinary new contract - has just missed a chance he would be expected to take. Sent clear by Mateo Kovacic there was a collective intake of breath as he ran through - only for Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton to parry his shot.
04:49 PM GMT
18 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
Now Foden has a shot blocked by the sliding Burgess. Ipswich are suddenly hanging on a bit.
04:48 PM GMT
16 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
City are coming to life. Kovacic whips a first-time shot over the bar from the edge of the area after a fast City transition. That’s a decent chance as well.
04:47 PM GMT
15 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
Fine save by Walton! Kovacic knifes Ipswich’s defence apart with a brilliant through ball to Haaland. He tries to lift the ball over Walton, who gets out quickly to make an excellent block and is relieved to see the ball bounce behind for a corner.
04:44 PM GMT
14 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
So far so good for Ipswich. City are dominating the ball, of course they are, but it’s certainly not one-way traffic and Ipswich have had the best opening with that Delap shot.
04:43 PM GMT
11 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
The modern approach to commemorate the death of a beloved player is a minute’s applause. The minute for Denis Law here was advertised as the more traditional silence, but City’s fans immediately started singing “once a blue, always a blue,” which led to spontaneous applause instead. A rare outbreak of the organic in a Premier League setting.
Noisy from all corners at Portman Road, a chap with some outlandish sideburns stood up to bellow “Come! On! Town!” just behind the press box. The unflustered reactions of those around him suggest he does it every week.
Pep already giving some urgent pointy instructions, Josko Gvardiol the lucky recipient. No sign yet of the tough love aggression cuddle cf. Stefan Ortega at Brentford, but the night is young.
04:40 PM GMT
8 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
Ipswich break superbly through Jack Clarke, who beats two players in midfield and releases Delap, one v one with Dias in the inside-right channel. He moves into the area, sits Dias down by dummying to shoot, then chops back inside to hit a left-foot shot that is desperately blocked on the six-yard line by Gvardiol.
That was a lovely bit of forward play from Delap, who is so much more than a battering ram.
Taking the game to City in the early stages.#IPSMCI pic.twitter.com/nfqiZGktRL
— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) January 19, 2025
04:38 PM GMT
6 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
It’s been a quiet start, at least in terms of the action. The City fans are making a very good racket.
04:35 PM GMT
4 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
Matheus Nunes, again playing at right-back, concedes a corner with a mistimed header back towards Ederson. Ruben Dias does very well to get in front of Burgess and head behind for another corner, this time on the right. Davis doesn’t beat De Bruyne at the near post.
04:32 PM GMT
1 min: Ipswich 0 Man City 0
City, in their burgundy third strip, kick off from right to left as we watch.
04:31 PM GMT
Tributes paid to Denis Law
There’s a minute’s applause in memory of the great Denis Law, who had two spells with City either side of his glory years at Old Trafford.
04:25 PM GMT
A reminder of the teams
Ipswich (5-2-2-1) Walton; Johnson, O’Shea, Godfrey, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Hutchinson, Jack Clarke; Delap.
Subs: Muric, Burns, Taylor, Townsend, Luongo, Hirst, Philogene-Bidace, Broadhead, Tuanzebe.
Manchester City (4-3-3) Ederson; Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; De Bruyne, Kovacic, Gundogan; Foden, Haaland, Doku.
Subs: Ortega, Grealish, Silva, Savio, Mubama, Alleyne, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.
Referee Sam Barrott
04:24 PM GMT
The pre-match thoughts of both managers
Kieran McKenna
We made one or two mistakes for the goals (against Brighton), but other than that we defended pretty well. We’ll certainly have to do that today. We had some good passages on the ball, as we have in most games, but we need to find a bit more threat as well.
[On Ben Godfrey] He’s a solid defender on the right-hand side. We’ve missed Axel Tuanzebe, who’s back on the bench today. He’s in at the deep end in terms of returning to the Premier League but he’s excited and it’s a good way for him to get his first start for us.
Pep Guardiola
In life, and sport especially, you don’t always have a red carpet in front of you. Football players are human beings. There are many difficult times all around the world but it’s important to remember those difficult times will finish.
[On Erling Haaland, who scored a hat-trick against Ipswich in August] Win the game. If he scores a hat-trick, great. But win the game, it doesn’t matter how we do it.
"The difficult times will finish" 💪
Pep Guardiola hopes Manchester City's fortunes are turning around 📈 pic.twitter.com/laIHgTa8CJ— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025
04:14 PM GMT
McAtee still waiting for his chance
There is a lot of talk pre-match of James McAtee not being in the Manchester City starting line-up despite his hat-trick in the FA Cup last week against Salford City and with a crucial Champions League tie away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Certainly City fans feel the 22-year-old deserves his chance and there is a fear that he, like Liam Delap who is leading the Ipswich Town attack, may believe his future lies elsewhere especially with Oscar Bobb set to return and Omar Marmoush being signed. McAtee only has one more year left on his contract after this season.
04:14 PM GMT
Today’s Premier League results
Everton 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Man Utd 1-3 Brighton
Nottm Forest 3-2 Southampton
Find out more with Luke Slater’s live blog...
04:08 PM GMT
Guardiola admits Haaland deals makes it hard to sign other forwards
Pep Guardiola is currently mired in the worst season of his managerial career and has shown signs of strain during the recent run, but he admits Erling Haaland’s pre-Christmas signing put a spring in his step.
“I’m happy but not more happy because I knew he had signed the contract 20 days ago, he signed two or three weeks ago,” said Guardiola. “I was happy in that moment, but now I think about Ipswich Town and what I have to do.
“Of course I’m happy. But not just because of Haaland. In the past, when other important players have signed a contract when we wanted them to stay, I was really pleased because they let me visualise that we can win games. With Erling we are closer to winning games. But I am fine.”
One by-product of Haaland signing his new, lengthy deal is that Guardiola concedes City will now struggle to attract another big-name star striker, due to the lack of available playing time.
“The biggest strikers will not come to be a replacement for Erling,” he said. “You have to find someone young to accept the role.
“I know it’s a completely different [style of] play, but maybe without Erling we play in a different way. We play with false nine, we’ve had alternatives, more runners from outside, more runners for the channels inside.
“We will find a solution. We cannot go now to buy an Mbappe, of course. We should play differently.”
03:57 PM GMT
Delap the danger man
Ipswich’s danger man today will be Liam Delap, a good old-fashiond No 9 in the mould of Alan Shearer.
Despite being born in Winchester, that most southern of towns, he started out with Man City and, as Mike McGrath wrote this week, could have joined Man Utd.
Read Mike’s full piece here.
03:51 PM GMT
City in the house
03:33 PM GMT
Pep on January splurge
Pep Guardiola has revealed why he brought forward Manchester City’s drastic rebuild in the wake of Erling Haaland’s record contract extension and player investments that could total £400 million.
City’s January activity is the clearest indication yet that the Premier League champions are surging ahead with re-developing their team, despite the threat of punishment for more than 115 charges relating to alleged financial irregularities.
The centre-piece was the extended deal that Haaland actually signed three weeks ago and which keeps him at the Etihad until 2034, with his total basic wage reportedly totalling around £250 million.
In addition, City are at various stages of moves for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush, Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov, Brazilian centre-half Vitor Reis and Juventus right-back Andrea Cambiaso.
Teenage striker Claudio Echeverri is also joining Guardiola’s squad this month, after signing last year for £12.5 million and returning to River Plate on loan.
The total outlay in transfer fees alone could top £160 million.
It marks a huge rebuild for City, and a squad which Guardiola admits is ageing, although the manager claims he would have waited until the summer, had there not been such problems with injuries and loss of form in his squad this season.
“Last season we had the feeling that we had to make some movement in the market. So we do it,” said Guardiola.
“We are going to try to do something right now when we were going to do it in the summer. It has advanced a few months because of the situation.
“We would not be doing it if the players were fit but today I think we have two central defenders [fit], no more than that, and, with holding midfielders, we struggle.
“The situation meant we had to do it sooner rather than later. After eight years together we have many players getting more than thirty years old, and the special reason why is the amount of problems we have with players’ availability.”
03:20 PM GMT
Man City team news
Your City team to face Ipswich! 👊
XI | Ederson, Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C), Foden, Doku, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Grealish, Bernardo, Savinho, Mubama, Alleyne, O'Reilly, Lewis, McAtee#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/uFAxuIHxso— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 19, 2025
Ruben Dias returns to the visitors’ defence after missing seven games through injury in one of four changes.
Dias, Ederson, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan and Jeremy Doku replace Stefan Ortega, Nathan Ake, Bernardo Silva and Savinho.
03:20 PM GMT
Ipswich team news
COYB. 💪#IPSMCI | @Nustone_UK pic.twitter.com/i8PUbFPjUH
— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) January 19, 2025
New signing Jaden Philogene is on the bench while captain Sam Morsy returns to the starting XI with on-loan Man City midfielder Kalvin Phillips ineligible to face his parent club.
Ben Godfrey, on loan from Atalanta, starts in central defence.
In Ben Johnson, Ben Godfrey, Cam Burgess, Sam Morsy, Jack Clarke
Out Luke Woolfenden, Jacob Greaves, Kalvin Phillips, Wes Burns, Nathan Broadhead.
01:30 PM GMT
Haaland deal comes with risks – but the rewards promise to be dizzying
By Sam Wallace
By signing Haaland until up to his 34th birthday, City avoid the challenge of having to find another Haaland in the interim – or at least for another seven years. They cannot be leveraged into giving him a deal on an even bigger scale later in his career. They cannot lose Haaland for nothing as Liverpool are currently contemplating with Trent Alexander-Arnold or Chelsea did with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger. They are avoiding the awkward end-of-career contract-extension discussion that Liverpool currently face with Salah. But in return they are committing wholeheartedly to his long-term success.
01:28 PM GMT
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live, minute-by-minute coverage of Ipswich v Manchester City in the Premier League. There are always new worlds to conquer, even for Pep Guardiola, and today he will manage a team at Portman Road for the first time.
When City won the return game 4-1 in August you would have got eye-wateringly long odds on this match being 18th v 8th. We’ve had chapter and verse on City’s stunning collapse in form; and, while they have looked more like themselves in the last couple of weeks, they remain so vulnerable in defence that Ipswich will feel they can hurt them – especially with the former City striker Liam Delap enjoying such an outstanding season.
The problem for Ipswich is stopping a rejuvenated Phil Foden – and Erling Haaland, who announced on Friday that he has signed a new nine-and-a-half year contract.
“I am really happy to have signed my new contract and to be able to look forward to spending even more time at this great club,” he said. “I also want to thank Pep (Guardiola), his coaching staff, my team-mates and everyone at the club as they have all helped me so much in the past couple of years. They have made this such a special place to be and now I am City no matter what. I’m going to stay for a long time so now I can fully focus on getting better.”
Even Pep Guardiola was surprised by the length of the deal when he was told by the director of football Txiki Begiristain. “I said, ‘Can you repeat?’ And he said to me (until 2034). I said, ‘Sure?’ and he said, ‘Yes’. So, good news. That means a lot.”
And, surely, a whole lotta goals.
Kick off 4.30pm
Always blue and white. 🔵⚪️#IPSMCI pic.twitter.com/E0FLYmITf4
— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) January 19, 2025
