Ipswich Town were outclassed by reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at Portman Road, losing 6-0.

The Blues were competitive in the opening stages of the match, creating chances and defending well. However, as soon as the first goal went in, they crumbled, with the Cityzens earning their biggest Premier League victory of the campaign as they eased to three points.

After a disappointing defeat to Brighton on Thursday, it didn’t take long for Ipswich to find their feet. A quick one-two allowed Ben Godfrey to rush down the right, where he cut the ball back to Sam Morsy, who floated a cross into the box.

Erling Haaland was denied an early goal by Christian Walton (Image: Steve Waller)

Mateus Nunes tried to head it back to goalkeeper Ederson, but couldn’t prevent it from going out for a corner. Town, however, were unable to capitalise.

Ben Johnson was able to stop Jeremy Doku and help Ipswich launch a counter in the 8th minute, with Jack Clarke’s tricky run allowing him to break forward and find Godfrey in space. He fed it to Delap, who was able to sit down Ruben Dias and take aim, although his strike was blocked by Josko Gvardiol. Godfrey’s attempt from the rebound met the same fate before City cleared the danger.

However, the visitors came incredibly close to opening the scoring in the 16th minute as Mateo Kovacic played an inch-perfect through ball to Erling Haaland, who ran clean through into the box. Christian Walton was able to rush off his line to block his chipped shot and prevent what seemed to be a certain goal.

Liam Delap was involved in a physical battle against Man City's defenders (Image: Steve Waller)

The goalkeeper was needed again seconds later to deny Phil Foden from a tight angle, keeping the scores level.

With Ipswich lacking some of the blood and thunder that saw them shock Chelsea at Portman Road at the end of 2024, Delap looked to bring it by himself. Picking up the ball, he breezed past both Nunes and Kovacic with ease before the latter brought him down for a free-kick on the left side of the box in the 25th minute.

Leif Davis played it short to Omari Hutchinson for a trademark Conor Chaplin-style routine, with a deflection carrying it behind for a corner. Dara O’Shea made first contact with Johnson’s delivery, heading straight into the palms of Ederson.

The Blues found themselves 3-0 down at the half-time break (Image: Ross Halls)

Town were made to pay for wasting their openings, however, as City hit the front in the 27th minute. Excellent movement and a sumptuous pass allowed Kevin De Bruyne to flick the ball into the box for Foden, who controlled the ball before flicking it into the net from close range.

The visitors were in complete control just three minutes later as they grabbed their second. Doku’s quick footwork allowed him to cut the ball back to Foden on the edge of the area. The versatile attacker turned to set up Kovacic, who rifled a low shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 on the half-hour mark.

Ipswich’s confidence started to vanish and Man City realised that underlapping runs were an easy formula for goals. They grabbed a third three minutes before the break as Doku spotted the run of De Bruyne, who found it easy to set up Foden for a tap-in from point-blank range.

Erling Haaland added a fifth after a mistake from Jack Clarke (Image: Steve Waller)

Ipswich reset at the start of the second half. Delap's strong work on the ball allowed him to set up Hutchinson through the middle, with the Chelsea man subsequently picking out Johnson on the right. The former West Ham man tested Ederson, who denied him.

Yet normal service resumed in the 49th minute, with Johnson caught high up the pitch as Doku cut inside onto his right foot, firing a shot off Dara O'Shea and into the back of the net to put his side 4-0 up.

Things quickly spiralled out of control. Jack Clarke made a bizarre decision to cut back and carry the ball in from the left flank, where his undercooked pass was easily picked up by Doku. The winger was afforded acres of space to pick out Haaland, who got in on the act before the hour-mark.

James McAtee added a sixth off the bench (Image: PA)

With both sides making a substitutions, Pep Guardiola handed some minutes to James McAtee, who's been linked with a January exit. He possibly added some more zeroes onto his price tag with a well-timed header, connecting with Kovacic's sublime chipped ball to grab his side's sixth.

The visitors took mercy on their opponents after that, passing the ball around as Ipswich chased shadows. A 6-0 defeat showed just how brutal the Premier League can be.

Town XI: 3-4-2-1: Walton; Godfrey (Tuanzebe 64'), O'Shea, Burgess; Johnson, Morsy, Cajuste (Luongo 64'), Davis; Hutchinson (Taylor 73'), J. Clarke (Philogene 64'); Delap (Hirst 73')

Man City XI: 3-2-4-1: Ederson; Akanji (Riley 72'), Dias, Gvardiol; Nunes, Kovacic (Lewis 72'); Foden (Grealish 63'), De Bruyne (McAtee 63'), Gundogan, Doku; Haaland (Mubama 63')

Attendance: 29,841 (2,980 away)