Despite Ipswich taking a shock lead at the Etihad, Manchester City's quality showed through as Ipswich Town fell to back-to-back league defeats for the first time under Kieran McKenna.
Sammie Szmodics opened the scoring on his full debut for the Tractor Boys, with their first goal back in the Premier League seven minutes in. It was a well-timed run from Szmodics and the ball squirmed under Ederson into the net.
Ten minutes of chaos then followed. Just three minutes after the goal a clumsy challenge from Leif Davis on Savio gave Haaland, following a VAR intervention, the chance to open his account for the day from the spot and he made no mistake, sending Arijanet Muric the wrong way.
Savio was proving a menace and he caught Muric fatally napping on the ball as Ipswich tried to play out from the back, gifting Kevin De Bruyne an open goal which he gladly accepted.
Just minutes later, De Bruyne lofted a pass between the Ipswich centre backs, seeking out Haaland. Muric, making another bad error on his debut, committed off his line, allowing Haaland to take the ball gracefully around him and he made what was actually a tricky finish look ridiculously easy.
At 3-1 down after only 16 minutes, the Blues were in real trouble and could have capitulated, but they did well to weather the storm and it was not until the 88th minute when Haaland completed his hat trick with a devastating near post finish from outside the box.
Here are four things we learnt about the Tractor Boys in this defeat:
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Individual mistakes at the highest level will be punished
Ipswich were the masters of their own downfall. If you take the lead against any team in the Premier League, let alone a team of Manchester City's quality at the Etihad, you cannot afford to give away cheap goals which is exactly what the Blues did.
Firstly a clumsy challenge from Leif Davis, whose defensive frailties have so far been exposed at the very highest level, on Savio gifted Manchester City a penalty. Kieran McKenna summed it up perfectly when he said "it is not a very dangerous situation" and "being disciplined enough to not give away the penalty is important."
Secondly, Muric is an erratic goalkeeper but his mistakes on debut were key factors, which cost his team the game. Savio caught him dwelling badly on the ball and taking an extra touch which gave De Bruyne an open goal.
Errors playing out from the back also occurred during his time at Burnley and Town fans will be hoping this was just a one-off. When you also factor in that the Blues had their backs against the wall having just conceded the penalty it made the decision even more bizarre.
Thirdly, Haaland made a smart run in between the two Ipswich centre backs Jacob Greaves and Luke Woolfenden. After making a mistake just two minutes earlier, the smart decision for Muric would have been to keep things simple but instead, he came rushing out of his goal and was left in no man's land.
To be fair to Muric, he did make a superb reflex save from a Haaland header in the second half, from which he should take confidence.
We'll never know what would have happened without these mistakes, but they took the game away from Ipswich. They will not be playing teams of Liverpool and City's quality every week, but they will only succeed against the lesser teams if they can eliminate these errors.
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VAR inconsistencies
The Blue Army can feel extremely hard done by considering there were two stonewall penalties, both involving the same two players, and the one that was given and reviewed by VAR was for City.
After 12 minutes, Leif Davis chopped Savio down which initially was not given by the referee, but after a VAR review, and a look on the monitor, David Coote changed his on-field decision and awarded the penalty which Haaland went on to convert.
Just before half time, Davis cut inside and there was clear contact by Savio on his thigh. A goal before half-time could potentially have changed the outcome of the game but the ref waved play on and VAR did not have a look at what should have been a clear penalty. The inconsistency between the two incidents was bemusing.
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No need to panic
Town have faced two of the best Premier League teams in the last few seasons in the opening couple of games so it is no shame or surprise to come out with zero points.
The Blues have four new signings to integrate into the side (Kalvin Phillips, Jens Cajuste, Jack Clarke and Dara O'Shea) before the Fulham game at Portman Road.
These are the games that will define Ipswich's season and in which are crucial for the Tractor Boys to pick points up in.
The lessons learnt in the Liverpool - Manchester City games could potentially be invaluable going into a more favourable fixture run. There have been positives in both fixtures which the Blues will gain confidence from.
The Blue Army have looked competitive at stages in both games but the pressure will be on to start picking up points. Fulham will be a good benchmark - a very solid team that will provide a real challenge but are the type of team Town need to beat if they are going to stay up this season. Despite losing both matches there should still be plenty of optimism, particularly with the level of squad strengthening.
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Sammie Szmodics is off the mark
The 2023/2024 Championship top goal scorer left his mark at the Etihad, scoring the opening goal of the game. Szmodics took his goal well, sneaking his shot under Ederson. He has bought his early season Blackburn form, where he contributed three goals in two games, to the Tractor Boys.
It was little surprise to see Szmodics' maiden goal come from a run in behind which is one of his best attributes. Szmodics lives and breathes goals, so it was important for him to get a confidence boost at his new level of football and is off the mark early for the Blues. His general all-round play was good and he slotted in well to the formation on Saturday.
