Erling Haaland netted a hat-trick as Manchester City came from behind to beat the Blues 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium, as Town fell to back-to-back league defeats under Kieran McKenna for the first time. Sammie Szmodics gave the Blues a shock lead in the seventh minute but the Premier League champions hit back only five minutes later as they scored three goals in 191 seconds - Haaland two, one penalty, and Kevin De Bruyne - with the Norwegian completing his treble two minutes from time.

Ex-City youngster Aro Muric was handed his Town debut, replacing Christian Walton in goal, the former Brighton man having deputised against Liverpool last week due to the Kosovo international having suffered a calf injury.

Ben Johnson came in for his full debut for Wes Burns, who has a hamstring injury, wide on the right but in a more defensive role than the Welshman, while Szmodics came in for Conor Chaplin, who was on the bench, in the centre of the three behind lone striker, former City youngster Liam Delap, the recent addition from Blackburn’s full debut.

New signing Jens Cajuste was on the bench, as was Manchester City fan and one-time trialist George Edmundson.

City were unchanged from the team which won 2-0 at Chelsea last week with Phil Foden not in the squad due to illness, while Rodri remains absent having suffered a hamstring during the Euros. Returning midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was on the bench.

Just prior to kick-off, there was a change of official with fourth official Sam Allison taking over from Michael Salisbury, who had picked up an injury.

The game got under way in warm sunshine, following a downpour earlier in the afternoon, and as expected City quickly began to dominate the ball.

They created their first chance in the third minute, Josko Gvardiol cutting back from the left and Muric diving at full length to palm it out of the path of Haaland, the Norwegian claiming he’d been fouled by Jacob Greaves behind him but with referee Allison not interested.

Contrary to the script, the Blues took the lead with their first attack of the game in the seventh minute. Omari Hutchinson brought the ball forward, cut inside and fed Johnson, who played in Szmodics, whose low shot just about squirmed under Ederson and had enough power to make it over the line.

Szmodics, who took his season’s tally to four for the Blues and Rovers, became the first Town player to score in the Premier League since Darren Bent in the 1-0 home win against Middlesbrough in April 2002.

But five minutes later, City were awarded a penalty after Leif Davis tripped Savinho on the right of the box as the winger looked to go past him. Referee Allison initially waved away the protests but after a VAR check awarded the kick. Haaland sent the ball to Muric’s right as the keeper dived in the other direction.

And in the 14th minute, two minutes after levelling, the home side went in front. Muric took too long on the ball on the edge of the box and was dispossessed by Savinho. It ran loose and City skipper De Bruyne stroked into the empty net ahead of Haaland.

But last season’s 27-goal Premier League top scorer wasn’t to be denied his second of the game, however, and a further two minutes later he made it 3-1.

De Bruyne played a superb ball over the top into the left channel, Muric came unconvincingly and was beaten to it by Haaland, who took it by him to the left, then found the net from a tight angle.

After the flurry of goals, Town regained their composure and the game settled back into the pattern of the first couple of minutes with City dominating possession and probing for openings.

As with the second goal, Town, when they had possession in their defensive third, were struggling to pass their way through the City press.

The Premier League champions should have added to their lead in the 18th minute when Rico Lewis hammered against the bar with the goal gaping, the ball bouncing down and away off the line, Jeremy Doku having cut back from the left and Haaland having left it.

Within a minute, City had hit the woodwork again, De Bruyne unleashing a 25-yard effort which clanged off the bar with Muric motionless.

As the game passed the half hour, following a corner, De Bruyne hit a low effort just wide of Muric’s left post.

The City attacks continued to come in waves and on 33 Haaland flicked a header from a right-sided cross beyond the far post.

Three minutes later, skipper Sam Morsy was shown his first Premier League yellow card for bringing down the hugely impressive Savinho not far outside the area. Town lined up the wall with draught excluder Davis and Haaland exchanging views at length before De Bruyne smashed it into the wall, much to Town’s relief.

On 42, following the first spell of Blues possession since the goals. Davis cut inside from the left and went past Rico Lewis and then Savinho, who seemed to send the left-back crashing. It looked a penalty but both referee Allison and VAR showed no interest.

In the third of five additional minutes, Doku was played in on the left of the area and cut back to Haaland, who turned over the bar from the near post.

That was the last chance of an entertaining half which had got off to the perfect start for the Blues with Szmodics’s confidently taken goal.

The penalty almost immediately afterwards killed any momentum Town might have gained from the lead, and that and then Muric’s error for the second handed the impetus firmly to the home side and the Blues seemed a touch shell-shocked as Haaland made it 3-1.

From there, Town reset themselves and defended in three banks as City dominated and prodded, probed and made darting runs in behind and prevented further goals, although with the woodwork also playing a part.

The Blues will also feel aggrieved at not having been awarded a penalty with Davis appearing to have been fouled by his tormentor-in-chief Savinho towards the end of the half.

The game stopped almost as soon as it had started with Mateo Kovacic receiving treatment for a knock and John Stones eventually replacing him.

On 55, Szmodics was booked for clipping Lewis’s heels not far inside the Town half with the second period having been scrappy up to now.

Just before the hour mark, Ruben Dias had his name taken for catching Szmodics with an arm as the forward cut inside him. From the free-kick, Town won their first corner, on the left, but Johnson hit the first defender.

The second half had been chance free but in the 64th minute, Haaland came close to his hat-trick. Following a corner, De Bruyne found the Norwegian’s head with a ball in from the left. Haaland’s header looked set to hit the back of the net until Muric superbly tipped it over.

The second half had been a quieter affair with City happy with the position the game was on and feeling little need to go chasing more goals with quite the intensity of the first half.

In the 71st minute, City swapped Doku and Savinho for Gundogan and Jack Grealish, while the Blues switched Szmodics, who could be very pleased with his full debut, and Luongo for Marcus Harness and Jack Taylor.

Town created their first opening of the half in the 76th minute after good work from Delap, who had been more effective since the break. Davis nodded back Johnson’s deep cross from the right, Taylor couldn’t get on it, then Harness and Delap got in one another’s way and the opportunity was gone.

Three minutes later, Grealish saw an effort crowded out by Axel Tuanzebe, the most impressive of the Town defenders.

With eight minutes remaining, Town swapped Delap, who once again caught the eye, despite having a difficult job as the central striker, for Ali Al-Hamadi.

As the game moved into its final minutes, the Blues were pinned back in their own box as City went looking for a fourth but with the Town backline successfully repelling everything until the 87th minute when Haaland claimed his hat-trick.

A loose ball cannoned off Harness to Haaland’s feet five yards outside the area and the striker hit a shot on the turn which beat Muric just inside his left post.

Town made a double change ahead of the restart, Chaplin and Edmundson taking over from Hutchinson and Tuanzebe, while City replaced Haaland, who was warmly applauded off by the home support, and De Bruyne for James McAtee and Mateus Nunes.

Al-Hamadi was booked for a foul on Grealish in the third of five additional minutes with City continuing to look for goals.

Seconds from time, Grealish was booked for a dive after throwing himself to the turf having stood on Morsy’s foot as he sought to go past the Town skipper inside the area.

That was the last action of a game which in the end went very much as would have been predicted with City running out comfortable winners and Haaland adding to his remarkable goals record, continuing his record of scoring against every Premier League opponent, now 23.

While City dominated throughout, the Blues took their one real chance through Szmodics but two errors soon afterwards lost any impetus that might have brought them, then the third soon afterwards, with Town reeling at that stage, all but settled the game.

The Blues regrouped after the three goals in 191 seconds and the second half was a quieter affair until the latter stages when Haaland grabbed his third.

Town have far from embarrassed themselves in their tough two opening games against Liverpool and City, albeit without gaining a point.

However, it’s the matches against teams such as next opponents Fulham, who are at Portman Road next Saturday, which will dictate whether the Blues are able to compete in this division.

Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic (Stones 51), De Bruyne (Nunes 90) (c), Bernardo, Savinho (Grealish 71), Doku (Gundogan 71), Haaland (McAtee 90). Unused: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Ake, Kabore.

Town: Muric, Tuanzebe (Edmundson 89), Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Luongo (Taylor 72), Johnson, Szmodics (Harness 72), Hutchinson (Caaplin 89), Delap (Al-Hamadi 82). Unused: Walton, Burgess, Townsend, Cajuste. Referee: Sam Allison (Wiltshire). VAR official: David Coote.

Photo: Reuters

TimmyH added 18:41 - Aug 24 No surprises really...the only one perhaps us getting on the sheet. You can't afford to have any mishaps against probably the best side or one of the best sides in the world and unfortunately in the space of 10 minutes we made a few through Muric and Davis. The goal will boost Szmodics confidence that on a full debut he scores at the Etihad. We move on, the real tests now lie ahead...

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Lightningboy added 18:44 - Aug 24 Won't be the last time I say this but VAR is the most corrupt thing in football & being used by totally inept officials.
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dirtydingusmagee added 18:54 - Aug 24 I was expecting us to conceed 4 against city regardless as to who was in goal,its a shame the goals conceeded came in the way they did without that disastrous episode the score would really have upset the apple cart.
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therein61 added 18:54 - Aug 24 Well that's the two free hits out of the way now lets get the season going we have not been disgraced by any means so let's build up the noise and get some points on the board, well done you boys in blue for battling to the end other sides will get worse up there this season good to see Sammi get his first of many goals for us. COYB.
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Dissboyitfc added 18:57 - Aug 24 always felt Muric had a mistake in him, hopefully thats it for the rest of the season. I dont take too much of debuts impressive or poor, think of Finidi had a great debut and never had a good game again, and the there was Dalian Atkinson first time I saw him, I thought he was poor and we know what happened there! So wont get carried away with Muric debut! By the way I thought Walton should have kept his place, dont often disagree with KM but on this I do, players need to feel if they do well they keep the shirt otherwise what's their motivation! Now on to Fulham which wont be easy either!

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Saxonblue74 added 19:03 - Aug 24 It might sound an odd thing to say, but I find it strangely reassuring that we lost due to silly mistakes that are easily irradiccated.we didn't get ripped apart by relentless pressure. It was quite obvious we wouldn't see much of the ball, but I think we dealt with that well and showed a different side to our game, which we'll have to do again a few times this season.

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Tedray added 19:07 - Aug 24 I thought the team regrouped well and avoided a really embarresing defeat when all looked lost.Should give them some confidence.Big mistake dropping Walton - Muric will be under huge scrutiny and pressure now.Do not expect much until October after all the new players have had a chance to adapt and gell. Fulham like every team will not be easy.
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SickParrot added 19:07 - Aug 24 Whilst it's never nice to concede four goals, it's no disgrace to do so to City. On the plus side, we scored and only conceded one in the last 70 mins. We gifted City the first two but hopefully we will learn from those mistakes. It was very unlikely that we would get any points against Liverpool or City and, although we were out classed today, we did shade the first half against Liverpool. Our performance against Fulham will be a better indicator of whether we can compete at this level. What we mustn't do is give away a soft goal or penalty again. I think it's clear from our first two games that Phillips should play and that we need the creativity that Jack Clarke can provide. We could also do with some Premier League experience at centre back to help the excellent Greaves, plus another centre forward of course.

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ArnieM added 19:09 - Aug 24 Well we knew this result was going to happen. Two really tough babk to back games against probably the two best PL outfits. I’m more disappointed with the keeper’s ridiculous risk taking. There was no need for it. I hope we sort this trait out or he’ll be a liability. We should have had a penalty, and once again the officials give the big club the nod. It’s going to be like this all season so we best get used to it! I think McKenna is giving the players that gsve git us back to back promotions first shout to stake a claim for the right to take the shirt. Quite a few won’t make it, but st least McKenna has given them a chance. Today’s team was nowhere near our strongest 11, and I doubt he will stick with it for much longer- we can’t afford to! Our season starts now …….

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EssexTractor added 19:16 - Aug 24 Kieran is a very loyal manager and so has given the players of last two seasons opportunity to play in the Premier League, but hopefully he is a realist too This league has so few poor teams , certainly in comparison against whom ITFc have played in last two seasons. The stand out performers in first two matches have been Greaves, Delap , Szomdics …new comers. Muric has arrived with a mixed past season , his match today was dreadful, but with KM and his coaching staff there he will ,and he must, improve . Arguably my two favourite players in last two seasons Morsy and Luongo may find that the strength , pace , experience and youth of opposition midfielders to be more than they can cope with on a regular basis. Philips and Caguste have obviously been acquired for that reason . So important to the whole team is dominating midfield, the area that demands special attention . None of us want to bid farewell to any of last two seasons heroes , but this Premier League is so so different ….and KMs forward decision making may not be what this loyal man wants it to be . So Fulham next, and the majority of the 30,000 will be providing the vocal support to ITFC in obtaining the first points of this season . But whoever is selected every cheer and encouragement will be of tremendous value .

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bluebullet29l added 19:23 - Aug 24 I'm not to bothered about the first two so called "free hit games" for the following 2 reasons. Reason 1....our season apparently doesn't start until next week ( although the table says different) reason 2...the following teams are rubbish..Leicester,Southampton,villa,Bournemouth,forest,Fulham,Wolverhampton,Everton,palace,Brentford, West ham,spurs,Chelsea,man utd,arsenal,Chelsea,Newcastle,Brighton. All the above teams will apparently roll over and have their bellies rubbed. This is according to some of the experts that frequent this site.

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dyersdream added 19:24 - Aug 24 Muric is woeful with his feet the new holy ?
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yorkieblue62 added 19:27 - Aug 24 Not going to condemn Muric to the dustbin after one game but McK needs to sort gkeeping position quickly as we cannot afford gifts in close games. Just look at what happened to Burnley last year. Hladky made very few mistakes last year.
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MVBlue added 19:29 - Aug 24 Ipswich fans were in fine voice today Few chants from the Citeh fans but they were a friendly lot
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Eeyore added 19:30 - Aug 24 A day when we really needed Phillips! The team will get stronger and stronger over the next few weeks. Need to be patient. Mid-table finish.
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jon_talbot56 added 19:39 - Aug 24 Worst goalkeeping debut since Richard Wright for England. Positives: they stuck to it, Axel good as we knew he is, Hutch decent, Dunlap a bruiser. Plus l have to say having never seen City in the flesh before, they are truly awesome. De Bruyne is a genius. I now know how Exeter fans felt a couple of seasons ago.
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blueboy1981 added 19:45 - Aug 24 Mistakes NOW get Punished !! - somewhat different to previously. A Huge difference, that must be dealt with.
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RobsonWark added 19:51 - Aug 24 blues1 added 18:30 - Aug 24 "Robsonwark What a,surprise m, u only appear when there's something u csn find to be negative about. Writing off Muric based on 1,game. Typical ceap town fan" I'm sorry for being a season ticket holder and caring about my club and wanting them to be the best Blues1. You however do not seem to care about how we do. Muric is useless. Walton should have played today after last week. If you read my posts I also give credit where credits due. Stop spreading fake information Blues1.

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Saxonblue74 added 19:59 - Aug 24 Robsonwark, whilst I agree that Walton probably earned a start today I'm not going to write Muric off after one game. Kayden Jackson has made a great start at Derby hasn't he!
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BuckieBlue added 20:04 - Aug 24 We've been undone last week and today by two short spells of play, but as KMcK says in his post match we'll learn from that and actually how many of the other PL sides could up their game to the level we've faced so far?
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RobsonWark added 20:13 - Aug 24 Saxon thank you for being honest and not slagging me off for my opinion. I do not follow any other clubs so I have no idea how Jackson or any former Town players are doing. If he is doing well then I am very happy for him, I just didn't think he was very good in the games he played for us.
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DifferentGravy added 20:43 - Aug 24 I am not woke, quite frankly I cannot stand it. So I wont walk around the subject. Keeper cost us massively. Two ridiculous mistakes. I wouldn't be happy if a sunday league keeper made those errors. Sort it or change it. Paid enough not to try to take on a centre forward....idiot Thought the majority of outfield players did well. I am a huge fan of Morsey and Luongo and what they did for us. But clearly an issue with pace and reactions in centre mid. Leif is a brilliant defender but pace exposed him. Silly challenge to make when it was going nowhere. Delap ran his socks off and szmodics was absolutely superb. Really proud of the lads the way they dug in after a dodgy five minutes

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Rsj13 added 21:07 - Aug 24 We need to remember that the PL is essentially three leagues rolled into one: City, Arsenal & Liverpool are in a class of their own. Then the next top 6-10, and finally the rest. Arsenal went through the gears and dispatched Villa, much live Liverpool did to us. A lot of teams have a -5 goal difference in two games against City & Liverpool. In the same way that had to pick up points against the likes of Forest Green, well, we're now the Forest Green to City. The key is to not panic, learn from the mistakes. And the key mistake here is switching off - you cannot at all at this level - and being better, critically against the teams when it matters. Honestly, we could probably play our best game of football of the year against City and still lose (likely comfortably!). We're strengthening the squad, and I'm confident the results will come. Remember, we only have to be better than three others!

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IAMLEOMUFF added 22:01 - Aug 24 As debuts go that was pretty poor. Muric looked uncomfortable with the ball from the off, his kicking was a shambles, just mishitting the ball into their midfield - was he still injured ? Did that affect his confidence and decision making thereafter? because goal 2 and 3 was Sunday league defending Lucky for Leif that Muric was so bad as he has started badly, Ok he is up against the best but he can still cross the ball Its a vicious league where mistakes are punished- McKenna will need to ruthless - the above 2 need to up their performances ASAP

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cymroglas added 22:12 - Aug 24 Harsh reality of the Premier League hit us straight between the eyes. Mistakes are being punished. Brave performance in many ways. Szmodics took his goal well. Agree we should have had a pen. Muric cost us a goal. Leif has not had the best start to the season. Good thing is we have the city game out of the way now. Need to start picking up points now as we have a run of games where we should at least win a few and draw a few. Not panicking yet - when we have played 10-12 games we will have a better idea where we are at.....

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