Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town on Saturday, while Liverpool recovered from conceding first to beat Brentford 2-1 away from home.
At the Etihad Stadium, Phil Foden and Haaland scored to put City in control, although Ipswich threatened a late comeback after Daizen Maeda equalised early in the contest and Zian Flemming converted a penalty in stoppage time.
The victory extended City’s winning run to seven league matches under manager Enzo Maresca, making him the first manager in Premier League history to win his first seven matches in charge of a club.
Foden opened the scoring in the 19th minute, finishing a move to give the hosts an early advantage. Ipswich responded two minutes later when Maeda levelled the score, briefly unsettling the home side.
City restored their lead in the 34th minute through Haaland, who finished to put the hosts ahead before half-time.
The Norwegian striker struck again in the 69th minute, extending City’s advantage and putting them in a stronger position to secure all three points.
However, Flemming converted a penalty in the 90th minute to reduce the deficit to one goal and create a tense finish. City held on to claim the victory.
Haaland’s performance was accompanied by an injury concern, as the striker limped off after the match. City also had other players suffering knocks, raising questions about their fitness ahead of upcoming fixtures.
At the Gtech Community Stadium, Liverpool came from behind to defeat Brentford 2-1 in a match that saw the hosts reduced to nine players.
Brentford took the lead in the 44th minute through Keane Lewis-Potter, putting Liverpool under pressure before the break.
The contest shifted in Liverpool’s favour during first-half stoppage time when Yehor Yarmolyuk was sent off following an incident involving an attempted headbutt. The dismissal left Brentford with 10 players and gave the visitors a numerical advantage for the second half.
Liverpool capitalised after the restart, with Víctor Muñoz scoring the equaliser in the 62nd minute following a pass from Florian Wirtz.
Alexander Isak completed the comeback eight minutes later, finding the net in the 70th minute after being set up by Bradley Barcola.
Brentford’s task became more difficult in stoppage time when Vitaly Janelt received a red card, leaving the home side with nine players as Liverpool protected their lead until the final whistle.
The result provided Liverpool with a response following their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City the previous weekend. For Brentford, the defeat ended their unbeaten start to the league campaign.
Saturday’s results underlined the contrasting challenges faced by the two winning sides. City had to withstand a late Ipswich penalty and mounting pressure, while Liverpool used their numerical advantage to overturn Brentford’s first-half lead.
City remain unbeaten at the top of the table, while Liverpool’s victory adds three points to their campaign as the Premier League season continues.
