Ipswich Town 0-6 Manchester City Review

Premier League GW22

Just like the match against Brentford, you have to be careful how much of this performance will carry through to the tough run in February but unlike the Brentford match, it was filled with positive performances across the pitch. The same trend continues in the final third, as De Bruyne and Foden find a good run of form. Jeremy Doku displayed a real complete performance as part of the City front line. Ruben Dias reminded us all of what he brings to the back line.

MOTM: JEREMY DOKU

Jeremy Doku has had his fair share of criticism since arriving at Manchester City, more than I think is valid but he’s never looked as fluid with the front line as he did against Ipswich Town. Worked incredibly well with De Bruyne down the left side, intercepted a pass before providing an assist to Erling Haaland, and scored the type of goal we are used to seeing from him, cutting onto his right foot. These are the type of performances that if done consistently, make you undroppable.

Other standout performances include: Phil Foden, Mateo Kovacic & Kevin De Bruyne

Notable Stats:

• Through Phil Foden, Jérémy Doku and Mateo Kovacic, Manchester City had three players score and assist in a single Premier League game for the first time since January 2021 against West Brom (Riyad Mahrez, João Cancelo, and Raheem Sterling).

• Manchester City have now won 21 of their last 22 Premier League games against promoted sides.

• Phil Foden has scored more Premier League goals than any other player since the turn of the year (5), scoring and assisting in a single game for the 9th time and being directly involved in 3+ goals in a single Premier League game for the fifth time.

Game Stats:

Ipswich Town 0-6 Manchester City

• xG: 0.63 - 3.56

• xThreat: 0.72 - 1.64

• Possession: 32.7% - 67.3%

• Field Tilt: 24.7% - 75.3%

• Penalty Box Shots: 5 - 14

• Deep Entries: 6 - 19

• PPDA: 23.4 - 10.4

• High Turnovers: 2 - 9

As mentioned in the previous match review, the underlying numbers for xG and xGA are trending in the right direction, but there is a tough run to come up next which will test how true that trend is. If you want to stay up-to-date on individual player minutes, back four combinations, underlying numbers, and more, check out the live Google sheet below. 👇

Here is how Manchester City lined up for the match against Ipswich, Jeremy Doku came in for Savinho on the left wing, Ederson was back in goal, Gundogan started ahead of Bernardo and Dias started for the injured Nathan Ake. Similar to the previous match, Matheus Nunes pushed up to hold width on the right side, allowing Phil Foden to drift inside and threaten along the edge of the box.

Ipswich had a handful of decent chances earlier in the match, Burgess getting header blocked off a corner, Delap's shot blocked after a fast break, and Omar Hutchinson getting a shot off target after Nunes gave away a free kick just outside the left side box. For all the good Nunes has done in the full-back role, a big concern would be how he defends in shoulder-to-shoulder battles and gives away poor fouls.

Haaland had an exceptional chance in the first half to open the scoring (15’) when he was put through into the box 1v1 with the keeper, Kovacic burst through the midfield to play the through ball, but Haaland had his shot saved.

Phil Foden 27' 0-1 

The relationship between De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku was the undoing of Ipswich Town in the first half. De Bruyne ran into the space behind Johnson, a well-weight pass behind from Doku, and Phil Foden ran into the 6-yard box. Picked out to open the scoring. You'll also notice how many other City players get into the box to support Haaland, Gundogan in the middle, Kovacic on the top, and Nunes coming toward the back post.

M. Kovacic 30' 0-2 

This time it was the space Ipswich left on the top of their box. Jeremy Doku squares up Johnson, coming inside as De Bruyne goes to overlap, and picks out Foden. Once the Ipswich players come to close him down, he lays it off for Kovacic in space to shoot.

P. Foden 42' 0-3 

Like the opening goal, De Bruyne attacks the space behind the RB, and Jeremy Doku provides a well-weighted pass to run onto. Foden runs into the 6-yard box, Gundogan arrives late, Kovacic at the top of the box, and Haaland heads to the back-post. Options for De Bruyne and it's Foden who puts it away.

J. Doku 49' 0-4

Now this was the type of goal we've come to expect from Jeremy Doku, coming down the LHS, moving between the defenders into the box, and curling a shot into the far corner (helped with a deflection).

E. Haaland 57' 0-5

Something Manchester City has struggled with during the losing run is to win the ball high up the pitch, and then turn those into shots or goals. Here Doku does well to anticipate and intercept the pass from Clarke. Drives toward goal as Haaland makes the run down the middle and plays a well-weighted pass for him to finish the first time.

Shortly after the fifth goal, Guardiola made a triple substitution (63’) likely with PSG midweek in mind as Foden, Haaland, and De Bruyne all came off. On came Jack Grealish, James McAtee, and Divin Mubama. It wasn’t until the 30th of November that Mubama was first able to make the EDS bench due to a couple of issues, but quickly after that, he was on the bench for United (H) with the first team. On the bench for Everton (H), and Leicester City (A), before starting against Salford City in the FA Cup. Impressive how quickly he’s worked his way up the pecking order. For James McAtee, this is now five games in a row he’s played minutes in.

J. McAtee 69' 0-6

Although limited in minutes this season, we've seen throughout his appearances that McAtee makes smart runs into the box. For this goal, Kovacic picks him out with the ball over the top, not tracked by Ipswich midfielders.

Shortly after the sixth goal, we saw some more changes (72’) as Mateo Kovacic and Manuel Akanji came off for Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly. The first minutes Rico Lewis has played since starting against West Ham (H), the first time Nico O’Reilly has played Premier League minutes this season.

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Moving Forward

In terms of the Premier League, Manchester City is back up into the top four, with Chelsea left to play on Monday night. Even a win for Chelsea only puts City down to 5th. Heading into the tough run of fixtures in February where they play all of the current top six, it’s a real make-or-break moment for the season. On one hand, you're less confident against the better sides, on the other these are exactly the teams you want to beat to move higher up the table. To be taking points off.

Manchester City now has four players on 10+ G+A across all competitions Erling Haaland (23), Phil Foden (13), Jeremy Doku (13), and Matheus Nunes (10). Something that only a couple of months ago seemed impossible with how they struggled to create let alone take chances.

Before Marmoush has arrived, or Oscar Bobb has returned from injury, the attackers are finding form. When you look at the options now available to Pep Guardiola, it’s tough to say if anyone nails down a starting spot.

It surprised me to see Ederson back, given the run of starts Ortega has had, but it also made a lot of sense after seeing how useful his distribution was. Even just how calm he was, taking his time to draw out Ipswich players pressing. Something to keep an eye on in the coming run.

Ruben Dias showed his ability as a leader and an organizer, and how the rest of the defense looked much better around him. Although the injury to Nathan Ake is a setback, without a time set, it looks like both Khusanov and Reis will get minutes early.

If you want to learn more about the two central defenders then check out the deep dives linked below. 👇

Given how well Phil Foden has started this new year scoring 5 Premier League goals, I looked back at his scoring pace across last season, and it’s no wonder he won Player of the Year. Foden scored the goals in the title run-in when it mattered most. There’s no reason why he couldn’t at least get close to those numbers again this season.

Speaking of scoring goals, Erling Haaland started the season in incredible form, well overperforming his expected goals, but has since struggled to either take chances or been given enough. Now he’s scoring slightly under what’s expected. All of which you can see in the graphic below. 👇

Next up for Manchester City is PSG on the 22nd of January, at 20:00 (GMT). A preview of the match will be published on Wednesday.