Another Premier League win for scandal-hit Man City as Haaland keeps scoring
Loading article...
-
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates with his teammates Phil Foden and Iliman Ndiaye after scoring his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Ipswich Town, in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson). Photo - Dave Thompson
-
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates with his teammates Phil Foden and Iliman Ndiaye after scoring his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Ipswich Town, in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson). Photo - Dave Thompson
-
Manchester City players celebrate after Erling Haaland scored his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Ipswich Town, in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct.17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson). Photo - Dave Thompson
The ongoing financial scandal enveloping Manchester City isn’t affecting the team’s results in the Premier League.
Or Erling Haaland’s appetite for scoring goals.
City became only the third team to open a Premier League season with seven straight wins by beating Ipswich 3-2 at home on Saturday, with Haaland netting twice to move to a competition-high eight goals for a campaign being played under a cloud of controversy.
It made it back-to-back victories in the league for City — either side of a 4-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League — since being found guilty of large-scale financial wrongdoing in the Premier League for nearly a decade.
The seismic verdict threatens the club’s place in England’s lucrative top flight, though City continues to protest its innocence and has appealed.
City manager Enzo Maresca believes the saga has galvanized the squad and the defiance among the fanbase continued, with many supporters bringing along inflatable bananas — a throwback to an item that fans brought to games in the 1980s for fun amid tough times for the team — for Ipswich’s visit. They also jeered the Premier League anthem before kickoff.
“Going down with the City,” was the chant by some home fans in the first half at Etihad Stadium as they watched their team extend their lead in the league to six points. Second-place Arsenal will visit Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Haaland and second-half substitute Antoine Semenyo were seen hobbling off the field at the end of the game, which finished with Ipswich grabbing its second goal in stoppage time and piling on the pressure in the final minutes.
Maresca, who became the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a team, said Haaland believed he was OK but added that Semenyo’s injury might be more serious.
“I didn’t expect to win seven out of seven,” said Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola in the offseason, “but we are working well, working good.”
Chelsea (in 2005) and Liverpool (in 2019) are the other teams to win at least their first seven games of a Premier League season - and they both went on to win the title.
Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.