Town fell to their joint-heaviest home defeat as they were thrashed 6-0 by Manchester City at Portman Road. The Blues played well for the first half hour but once Phil Foden, on 27, Mateo Kovacic, three minutes later, and then Foden again in the 42nd minute had given the visitors a three-goal half-time lead, it was one-way traffic in the second period with Jeremy Doku, 49, Erling Haaland, 57, and James McAtee, 69, completing the scoring to inflict Town’s biggest home loss since Liverpool won by the same scoreline in February 2002.

The Blues made five changes from the team which lost 2-0 to Brighton on Thursday with Ben Godfrey handed his league debut and skipper Sam Morsy, Cameron Burgess, Ben Johnson and Jack Clarke returning to the team.

Godfrey took over from Luke Woolfenden, who was left out of the 20-man party, but lined up to the right of Dara O’Shea, who was in the centre alongside Burgess, who came in for Jacob Greaves, who was also absent from the squad.

Johnson was wide on the right with Wes Burns on the bench and Leif Davis on the left with Christian Walton continuing in goal.

Morsy replaced Kalvin Phillips, who was ineligible against his parent club, alongside Jens Cajuste in midfield.

Clarke came in for Nathan Broadhead, who was among the subs, alongside Omari Hutchinson behind number nine Liam Delap.

Jaden Philogene was on the bench having signed from Aston Villa in midweek, as was Axel Tuanzebe after returning from his hamstring injury.

City made four changes from the 2-2 draw with Brentford in midweek with Ederson, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan and Jeremy Doku coming in for Stefan Ortega, Nathan Ake, who has a knock, Bernardo Silva and Savinho.

Town began the game well and won a corner in the third minute, Matheus Nunes nodding beyond his keeper and out of play. From the flag-kick, Burgess rose highest but his header looped for another corner off Dias.

City began to see most of the ball but in the eighth minute Johnson won the ball not far outside the Town area, before Clarke burst away into the City half and fed Delap to his right. The former City frontman cut inside Dias and hit a shot which was blocked. The Blues picked up the ball again but were unable to get in another effort.

The visitors should have gone in front on the quarter hour from the game’s first serious chance. Kovacic threaded a superb ball through for Erling Haaland to chase into the box behind O’Shea but the Norwegian, who signed a new 10-year contract this week, shot too close to Walton, who saved with his left hand.

The resultant corner came to nothing but the Blues were subsequently unable to play their way out from the back and an effort from Foden from the right of the area was blocked before Kovacic shot deep into the North Stand from the edge of box.

On 20, Foden unleashed a strike from 20 yards but it hit Gundogan and deflected through to Walton.

Three minutes later, Delap battled with Kovacic, won the ball, took it on and was fouled just outside the box to the left.

Clarke took the free-kick and laid it off to the unmarked Hutchinson on the edge of the area from where the former Chelsea man struck a powerful shot which flicked over off Haaland’s head when on its way into the roof of the net.

From the corner, Town threatened again, O’Shea rising high heading towards goal but Ederson claimed two-handed under his bar.

However, the visitors took the lead in the 27th minute. Doku fed in Kevin De Bruyne on the left of the box and the Belgian chipped a cross to Foden on the edge of the six-yard box at the near post. The England international deftly took it down before hitting a quick shot on the half-turn which gave Walton no chance.

The Town fans tried to up the noise despite their side having gone behind and on 29 Delap brought the ball forward before hitting an ambitious shot from distance which Ederson saved down to his right.

A minute later, it was 2-0. Foden squared the ball to Kovacic on the edge of the area to his right and the Croatian international fired a low shot into the corner of the net.

Performance-wise, the Blues had had a decent first half hour, playing as well as they might have hoped against such illustrious opposition, but still found themselves two goals down.

Davis whipped a cross over from the left into Ederson’s arms, then De Bruyne shot over from the edge after more good work from Foden.

City made it 3-0 and effectively tied up the points in the 42nd minute. Doku threaded in De Bruyne behind Godfrey on the left and, as Burgess came out to cover, cut back to Foden on the edge of the six-yard box, from where he turned the ball under Walton and into the net for his second goal of the game, fifth in his last three Premier League games and his sixth in his last six in the top flight.

Neither side threatened in the remaining scheduled time and one additional minute. The scoreline was harsh on the Blues’ display overall, certainly up to the first City goal, with Town giving as good as they got against the Premier League champions and creating a couple of decent chances.

However, the visitors’ quality eventually showed with the Blues unable to keep Foden and De Bruyne in check with the first goal cleverly converted by the England man, who then teed-up Kovacic for the second, before De Bruyne again made the most of be able to break into the area unchecked to create the third.

Town, facing an impossible task to get back in the game, were first to threaten after the break, Delap feeding Johnson on the right of the area and the West Ham man hitting a low shot across Ederson that the keeper initially couldn’t hold but claimed off a defender’s shins.

But within a minute, the visitors scored their fourth. De Bruyne sent Doku way on the left, the Belgian international taking the ball into the area and cutting between Godfrey and Morsy before hitting a shot across Walton which caught O’Shea and nestled in the corner of the net.

And on 57, it was 5-0. Clarke made a wayward pass not far inside the Town half, gifting possession to Doku, who gratefully accepted it, took it forward and cut inside to the right to Haaland, who slipped it past Walton.

City continued to look for goals and two minutes after the fifth goal Haaland and Doku exchanged passes on the left of the box, but the Norwegian’s shot was blocked. De Bruyne’s follow-up deflected onto the roof of the net.

Town hadn’t been in it as an attacking force since the fourth goal, but on 62 Hutchinson played a one-two with Johnson on the right and hit a cross-shot which Ederson claimed but took out for a corner, which came to nothing.

A minute later, City swapped Haaland, De Bruyne and the outstanding Foden for Divin Mubama, Jack Grealish and James McAtee, then Town switched Clarke, Cajuste and Godfrey for debutant Philogene, wearing Jaden on the back of his shirt, Massimo Luongo and Tuanzebe, whose return was warmly cheered by the home support.

Five minutes after coming on, McAtee made it six. Kovacic was given time and space to chip a ball over the Town backline and the England U21 international got in behind and nodded a looping header over Walton from 10 yards out at the back post.

Town made two more changes in the 73rd minute, Delap and Hutchinson making way for George Hirst and Jack Taylor.

Nunez was booked for a foul on Davis on the left in the 79th minute, the game’s first yellow card, but the free-kick came to nothing.

City played out the remaining minutes in complete control of the game but with the Blues able to prevent any further goals.

After the whistle, the Town players and staff went over to the North Stand and were warmly cheered and applauded by their fans, despite the heaviest defeat of the McKenna era.

A chastening afternoon for the Blues, who can look back on a first half hour in which they matched the visitors and created a couple of openings.

However, City’s quality carved out their clearer cut chances, which were taken to take the game well away from the home side. In the second half, once the fourth goal went in, it was all City with Town’s aim to do nothing more than keep the scoreline down.

The worst Blues home defeat since the 6-0 at home to Liverpool in February 2002 and their heaviest loss full stop since losing by the same scoreline to Blackpool in August 2012. It is also the heaviest home defeat in the top flight this season and City’s biggest ever away win in the Premier League.

The thrashing by the Reds in 2002 precipitated a collapse which ended in relegation from the Premier League, Town having been 12th at the time.

A similar disintegration from McKenna’s men seems unlikely but the result and the narrative of the game illustrates the gulf between the teams towards the top of the division and those at the bottom.

However, shipping so many goals is a big blow to their goal difference, the Blues now sitting six worse off than Wolves above them in the final safe spot with the teams still equal on points.

Following their poor run, City needed a win and perhaps a big one given the spotlight they and manager Pep Guardiola have been under.

It doesn’t get any easier for Town with a trip to leaders Liverpool, where they were beaten 5-0 on their last Premier League visit in May 2002, up next on Sunday.

Town: Walton, Johnson, Godfrey (Tuanzebe 64), O'Shea, Burgess, Morsy, Cajuste (Luongo 64), Davis, Hutchinson (Taylor 73), Clarke (Philogene 64), Delap (Hirst 73). Unused: Muric, Townsend, Burns, Broadhead.

Manchester City: Ederson, Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gundogan, De Bruyne (Grealish 64), Foden (McAtee 64), Doku, Haaland (Mubama 64). Unused: Moreno, Bernardo, Savinho, Alleyne, O'Reilly, Lewis. Referee: Sam Barrott (West Riding). VAR: Paul Tierney. Att: 29,841 (City: 2,980).

Photo: Matchday Images

algarvefan added 18:59 - Jan 19 OK it wasn't good and the scoreline is awful, but I agree with a few others, week to week there are too many changes, we need a more settled side, our forward line was far too lightweight with Hutch and Clarke. Nothing we can do now except try and keep it reasonable next weekend and tale it from there, still plenty of points to play for and hope for a more settled side.

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Karlosfandangal added 18:59 - Jan 19 Londontractor. Watched Town since 1977 so seen the highs and lows
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Saxonblue74 added 19:01 - Jan 19 A huge amount of proper fans at PR tonight,they sang to the end. Proud fans.
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BlueWax added 19:01 - Jan 19 Not saying i want us to be reckless but no yellow cards by us. Didn't get stuck into them...of course they are a super class outfit. We have to stick together and we will. Not sour grapes but how can city of all teams get 2 more rest days than us b4 this fixture. I don't get it. Most of our players looked very tired.....we lost centre mid big time but hey let's keep remembering what things were like 4 years ago

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smithlarr added 19:01 - Jan 19 When you play a team that cheated to get where they are, it is pointless to fret about the result.
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martin587 added 19:01 - Jan 19 The first 20 minutes we matched City but then it all went badly wrong.Men against boys tonight and far too many mistakes.Don’t keep changing the defense boss it’s unsettling.Let’s get next Saturday out of the way and fingers crossed we can get some points on the board.Too many below performances from individual’s so it’s impossible to pick out names. Once again fantastic support.COYB.

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Van_Blue added 19:04 - Jan 19 Whilst I agree that was an awful performance, I think it was as much that City were way above our ability at the moment. However, I am still prepared to support the team and continue on this journey of rebuilding the club. Yes, there will be rough times like today (I still remember that 9-0 thumping) but I don't want to settle for Town just being a perennial Championship club. We may have to be a "Yo-Yo" club but the money will gradually rebuild the squad until we can be in a better position to seriously compete with the top clubs. Uppa Town, keep believing.

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LimerickTractorBoy added 19:05 - Jan 19 Blueb***ix marked me down.... reasons to be cheerful.
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DifferentGravy added 19:07 - Jan 19 Sorry, but some of you need to calm down and stop over reacting. We have jumped two divisions in two seasons. This isnt like the 70s/80s when it it was a more even playing field and teams consisted of mostly home nation players. The teams we are playing have had years to adapt to the premiership, the demands, the dark arts, the required strength in depth. It was a poor performance against a decent team.....and its no surprise we struggle against possession based teams. We will likely lose to Liverpool. But we are still in touch and have a chance of staying up. Im as disappointed as anyone else with the result. But i also appreciate how difficult it appears to be to stay in the premiership. Im really enjoying the effort and, sometimes, fantastic moments the team have created......and before you call me an eternal optimist....im not.....look at my past comments. I say it how i see it. Somteimes wrong, sometimes right. But we definitely still have a chance COYB

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bluebullet29l added 19:09 - Jan 19 Limericktractorboy....your embarrassing...calling people names from behind your keyboard for having an opinion...grow up you child
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londontractorboy57 added 19:10 - Jan 19 Bluebore why don't you post something constructive.
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Paulc added 19:13 - Jan 19 Some truly idiotic comments on here as expected. We all know where we’ve come from and that we got here too quickly. The first 25 mins we were competing, then the gulf in class was shown and we were well beaten. We move on. All those saying stupid unhelpful things like “embarrassing, disgraceful and garbage”, you know who you are, please distance yourself from the club as we need positivity not tw*tivity!

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blueboy1981 added 19:13 - Jan 19 Evidence again on here that ITFC Fans don’t expect much, and settle for very little. How anyone can be satisfied with both that Score and Performance is beyond me - Man’ City had a Sunday afternoon stroll, and never needed to step out of first gear. That won’t satisfy any Owners, least of all ours now ! But obviously has those Fans, that expect so little as usual.
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johnwarksshorts added 19:15 - Jan 19 Big shout out to our fantastic fans, kept on singing, and majority stayed till end. Liverpool away now eek!!
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Woodbridgian added 19:16 - Jan 19 I see the naysayers and doom merchants are out in force again. Reality is we were never going to get anything out of a this game it’s the games against the Everton Place and Brightons we just have to do better in. Personally I didn’t think we played too badly today City were just on a different planet not just league. Liverpool next week is also going to be very difficult as well. Keep your chins up boys we’re still not out of it yet.

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londontractorboy57 added 19:17 - Jan 19 Jogon olive16 obviously a glory hunter
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TheLoveOfWisdom added 19:17 - Jan 19 Guys.. It's City. Regardless of their recent form, they're one of the best teams in the world. We weren't terrible. We could have been 2-0 up 20 mins in. I'm not under any illusions about being in this league though. We move on. Enjoy every good moment while we can.
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Wicksy added 19:18 - Jan 19 We just need to get above Southampton, Leicester and Wolves. Unlikely anybody else will get dragged down. A big win for Chelsea tomorrow - much as I dislike them! - and things won't seem so bad. Soton and Wolves at home both 'must wins'
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Ipswichbusiness added 19:18 - Jan 19 At the start of the season I did not expect us to take points off the likes of Man City and Liverpool and we haven’t. We do, however, need to beat lower half teams at home. If we don’t take three points off Southampton then we are in trouble.
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SickParrot added 19:18 - Jan 19 We gave City a few anxious moments before they scored but after that it was a stroll for them really. They have so many super footballers in their team and it's no disgrace to lose to them but the manner of the defeat was so disappointing. We gave City too much respect and were far too nice. I don't think we received a yellow card and I can't actually remember a Town player making a tackle. For example, Foden was allowed to cruise through the game. He always had space and time and wasn't closed down or challenged at all. The only positives from today are that we don't have to play City again and a promising cameo from Philogene who looks very comfortable on the ball. Unfortunately it's a trip to Anfield next. Let's hope that we can defend better there and avoid another big defeat.

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Andyarthur added 19:23 - Jan 19 Having just got home from the game,and reading some of the comments,it's so frustrating to hear such poor negative comments from a number of fans...we have just played one of the best teams in the world and for the first 20mins we were toe to toe with them...don't lose sight of where we have come in a short space of time,get behind the team,not slate them
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Nottsblue66 added 19:24 - Jan 19 Northstandveteran Yes I did say we will lose against man-city & Liverpool But to lose 6-0 is not acceptable I'm sorry but I cannot see us getting out of the bottom 3 You go on about forest/Bournemouth etc But they survived the 1st season We are not good enough for this league yet
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coolhand added 19:27 - Jan 19 Tactical error after 20mins when Johnson was dealing with Doku quite well, Guaduola pulled him back 2 yards and Johnson stayed where he was, result Doku created the opening for 3 goals. What happened was the back 3 were trying to stop shots instead of interceptions as in the first 20mins
4

Leejames99 added 19:27 - Jan 19 This forum is hilarious, 'band of brothers' my gosh, did you really expect us to beat Manchester City who by their own admission had best game of season, we weren't even league one winners 2 seasons ago. As I keep saying contrary to what Blueboy81 (I don't think he is a town fan btw) the owners, the manager, the players have been very realistic, they used TV money to make the ground Prem ready now and bought the best proven young playersfrom the Championshio who are not only assets but give us the best chance to come back up if we go down, that's why Mckenna still in job and good players arriving. The 'Band Of Brothers' have been pivotal in losses this year, they were great and part of our history but in sorry if we are bringing on Luongo, leaving Morsy on Pitch when City can bring on Grealish, Macatee, Rico Lewis that says it all. We came up too early but that has enabled us to upgrade the stadium and invest in real quality, who will also know relegation is a possibility. This is a project to sustain ourselves in Premiership and I personally think a season with our new signings in Championship winning together will stand us in really good stead yo then maintain prem status. League one players excelled and in that league and surprised the Championship, now we have the best of the Championship who will be great once we get settled, not injured squad, the formation was good today aside Morsy IMO. Burgess and O'Shea in middle, Tunazabe on right, Godfrey and Davis in front of them. Phillips Cajuste Phillogene Hutchinson Delap Muric in goal or sign Kelhner now. Muric Tunazabe O'Shea Burgess Godfrey Davis Cajuste Phillips Huchinson/Broadhead Phillogene Delap It's time for a new 'band of brothers who are all on long term contracts for the future and it will do them or the club if we go down and have Portman Road rocking, and if a club wants to pay 40 million for Delap we will have made 20 million off him alone but I don't think he will go either, he isn't prolific yet, was average in Championship because he is only young and Mckenna seen his potential. We will need a new midfield if we don't stay up so maybe we will sign one now and a two Vhampionship striker now to give them a taste of Prem. Mckenna all but said they done expect to beat Man City and nor should we. Liverpool is a bye probably bit the bottom teams still have to play them. We are in a mini battle for 17th but if relegated it really is no harm done and the club are in a great position to return. Unfortunately the Burns, Morsy, Chaplin etc era is finished with good memories and thanks and well done to Davis and Burgess for making the step up. A season where we are winning is better than a season struggling, we just need to get to the point, Brighton, Brentford, Forest, Fulham are at and like them that may take a season back in the Championship and everyone at the club from the owners to the fans know that! Whatever happens the club is going in the right direction for achieving their long term goals.

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Suffolkboy added 19:35 - Jan 19 Doom and. Gloom are not the way forward ; nor are some of these comments at all constructive ,let alone positive ! ITFC have achieved miracles in arriving in PL so quickly ; KM and M A ( plus the Board and owners) are intent on creating a long term success ,but steps along the way are inevitably difficult ! This was one of those ! It’s a shame we couldn’t get the ball in their net ,though it wasn’t for want of effort . Supporters who love and value our Club and side will put all this into perspective and encourage the squad to move on ,heads up and forward to more challenges ! COYB

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