Pep Guardiola has been pretty animated at times watching Jeremy Doku this season.

That's not to single the Belgian out, but as one of the few players tasked with using the creative freedom he is given to make the decisions that produce goals, he has been more under the microscope than most as City's goals have dried up. As half-time approached at Ipswich, all it needed was an outreached hand from the manager for Doku to slap in satisfaction for the knowledge that he had done his job.

City were 3-0 up, on their way to a fourth win in five games and with a lead so healthy that they moved into the top four on goal difference, and Doku had picked up exactly where he had left off at Salford in the FA Cup. He hadn't yet been directly involved in a goal (that wouldn't last long) but the Belgian's play with Josko Gvardiol, Kevin De Bruyne, and Phil Foden had given City a lead they couldn't, for a change, throw away.

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The first came after an opening minutes that had seen chances for both sides, the visitors producing opportunities but slightly unnerved by former Blue Liam Delap rampaging at the other end. A quality move involving Doku saw De Bruyne slip the ball across to Foden and the Stockport forward coolly control and finish on the half volley.

Soon after, it was two with Foden nudging the ball sideways on the edge of the box for Mateo Kovacic to arrow into the corner of the net. With half-time approaching, Foden turned in another De Bruyne ball and Doku had his recognition - less dramatic than what has come before it this season but far more welcomed.

Doku would get more limelight early in the second half when his shot was deflected in for his sixth goal of he season and he then set up Erling Haaland - his first ever assist for the Norwegian - to make things ugly for the home team before the hour mark. City were treating the Premier League newcomers as brutally as they did League Two Salford City in a welcome return to the standards they had held for so long before their recent slump.

It may be too early to say that the Blues are back where they used to be, and they have a challenging run of fixtures ahead that would test them even if they were in much better form. Nevertheless, this result makes it a positive week for the Blues after an encouraging performance at Brentford was deflated by the dropped points at the end.

For a team whose attacking output fell away, 22 goals from their last five games is very promising and even better yet only four of them have come from Haaland. He surely would have filled his boots against Salford, yet if he is going to be the star of the club and the league for the next ten years he cannot do it on his own.

City have been too reliant on his goals this season and it has been costly for them, with Guardiola desperate for more from his other attacking players more than he has new signings. Foden has been the big disappointment in failing to hit the great heights he established last season, although after no goals in his first 11 league games it is now six in six; the sniper is a sharpshooter again.

With Doku, Kovacic and even substitute James McAtee chipping in - only three Blues have more goals than the Salford playmaker this season despite his lack of minutes - it is a much healthier environment for the best striker in the world to thrive in right up until his 34th birthday. He exited early here with the smile on his face as he applauded the travelling fans no smaller for the fact he hadn't made up the bulk of the goals.

Tougher tests obviously lie ahead. Immediately ahead really, if you count the trip to Paris Saint-Germain as a must-win in the Champions League.

But for the first time in a good while, City can look forward with real positives from performances, results, and players coming back into health and form - not to mention the work in the January transfer window that will see a least three new faces arrive this month to bolster competition in the squad and chances of winning more silverware this season.

Guardiola may not need to be so animated on the touchline for a while now.