Pep Guardiola acknowledged that his Manchester City players must improve on their opening day showing as they welcome Ipswich Town to the Etihad on Saturday.
City kickstarted their Premier League title defence with a 2-0 win against Chelsea, but Guardiola was left wanting more from his squad
Despite having more shots and shots on target, the Citizens underperformed their expected goals (xG) total by 1.23, something the Spaniard said surprised him.
"I didn't expect it. We are away from our best so three points is the good news. The bad news is we have 65 games ahead of us," Guardiola said.
"We have an advantage, it's our ninth season together so we know each other well.
"There is a plan, defensive, offensive. But afterwards, it's how we celebrate the good moments and come back from the bad moments.
"That's what defines these teams and no one talks about it."
Meanwhile, Ipswich marked their return to the Premier League with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, although the result did not tell the full story of the contest at Portman Road.
The Tractor Boys restricted Arne Slot's side to just three shots in the first half, none of which were on target, while also registering two shots on Alisson's goal of their own.
But the Reds' quality shone through after the break, with goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah securing an opening day win for their new manager.
And Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna insisted that lessons will be learned from their second half showing, with the result a solid foundation to build on moving forward.
“We know we can improve in the second half. Liverpool really hit their stride during that period and there’s bits we can do better there to make the game more competitive," McKenna said.
“There’s positives to take and lessons to learn, and I think it’s a game that stands us in pretty good stead.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Man City – Erling Haaland
Having opened his account for the season against Chelsea last weekend, Erling Haaland will be licking his lips when Ipswich visit the Etihad on Saturday.
Haaland has scored at least once against all 22 sides he has faced since his move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
The Norwegian has also netted 13 goals in nine appearances during August in the competition, more than he’s struck in any other month.
Ipswich – Omari Hutchinson
While the Tractors Boys face the daunting task of visiting the reigning champions, they showed signs of promise in their first half performance against Liverpool, none more so than Omari Hutchinson.
Hutchinson registered an expected goals (xG) of 0.27 to Ipswich’s 0.45 total, producing the most shots (three) and winning possession on more occasions (six) than any other Ipswich player against the Reds.
MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN
City are the overwhelming favourites to continue their unbeaten start to the season, winning 81.6% of Opta’s data-led simulations, with Ipswich given a 7.3% chance of causing a monumental upset.
Guardiola’s side have won 17 of their last 18 Premier League games against promoted sides (D1) since a 2-1 home loss to Leeds in April 2021.
They are also unbeaten in their last 44 home games in all competitions (W37 D7) since a 2-1 loss to Brentford in November 2022. It’s the eighth longest such run among English top-flight clubs in history, and the longest since Chelsea’s run of 74 between February 2006 and October 2008.
This will be Ipswich’s first ever meeting with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium after winning their last two visits to Maine Road, triumphing in a Premier League game 3-2 in November 2000 and a League Cup tie 2-1 the following month.
However, Ipswich haven’t scored in any of their last seven away league games against the reigning top-flight champions (D1 L6), losing the last three by an aggregate score of 15-0. They last scored in such a game in April 1984 (2-2 v Liverpool), while their last such victory was in October 1981 (1-0 v Aston Villa).
Should the Tractor Boys lose at the Etihad, it will be the first time since the 2006-07 Championship season that they have started a league campaign with two straight defeats, last doing so in the top flight in 1985-86.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester City – 81.6%
Draw – 11.1%
Ipswich – 7.3%
KC, JC through to Manning Cup semis as champs Mona booted
A new ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup champion will be crowned after Kingston College (KC) registered a decisive 2-0 victory over reigning titleholders Mona High in their Group A quarterfinal showdown at Stadium East on Friday.
Kvist Paul (8th) and Demario Dailey (70th) did the damage for Kingston College in a win that not only ended Mona's campaign but also propelled the North Street-based team into the semifinals alongside Jamaica College (JC), who trounced Tivoli High 4-0 in a simultaneous fixture at the Ashenheim Stadium.
By virtue of the results, Jamaica College topped the group on seven points, one point ahead of Kingston College (six points), while Tivoli High (three points) and Mona High (one point) will now turn their focus to the Walker Cup knockout competition for redemption.
Kingston College’s Head coach, Vassell Reynolds, lauded his team's composure and execution.
"It was a fantastic performance. We knew Mona would come out strong, but the boys stuck to the game plan and delivered when it mattered. Now, we look ahead to the semifinals, but as always, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. The aim is to keep the boys grounded and focused, and we will see what happens when that time comes,” Reynolds said.
With a lot at stake for Mona in particular heading into the contest, it was expected to be a close affair, but the manner in which Kingston College started ensured otherwise.
In fact, Mona had very little say in the contest as Kingston College’s show of intent resulted in an early strike inside 10 minutes. Damaine Smith delivered a perfectly placed corner kick, which Paul rose to meet and headed past Mona's goalkeeper, Riquelme Edwards.
Mona High, desperate to respond, almost found themselves further behind in the 15th minute when Dailey fired wide from a promising position.
As Mona struggled to contain Kingston College’s tactical discipline and attacking enterprise, Deshawn Byfield almost added his name to the scoresheet but had his effort dramatically cleared off the line by Dante Peralto.
Despite KC’s dominance, Mona’s goalkeeper Edwards produced a string of superb saves to keep his team in contention.
Just before halftime, he acrobatically parried a powerful shot from Kajay Fletcher, diving full stretch to his right, and Byfield failed to capitalize on the rebound.
Seconds later, Edwards was called upon again to deny a stinging shot from Smith.
Matrim Martin then unleashed a venomous right-footer, but Edwards once more stood tall, ensuring the scoreline remained 1-0 at the break.
The purples continued to assert their authority on the resumption as Dailey threatened in the 68th with a firm shot from close range that went straight at Edwards.
However, the Kingston College striker, sporting the number nine jersey, made amends two minutes later. Sent on his way by a brisk through pass, Dailey powered a low drive past a flat-footed Edwards to double Kingston College’s lead and effectively end Mona’s hopes of a comeback.
Clarke hails solid Scotland as Croatia win boosts Nations League survival hopes
Steve Clarke credited Scotland's defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining in the top tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn came off the bench to score the all-important goal as Scotland took advantage of Petar Sucic's sending-off to claim their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.
The result – coupled with Poland's crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automatic relegation to League B if they win in Warsaw on Monday.
While Clarke felt Scotland could have done more with the ball, he was impressed both with their off-the-ball work and with the impact of super sub McGinn.
"My first thoughts when I came off the pitch were that we could play better," Clarke said.
"We could be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. The sending off changed the game, but we were due a little break.
"This is a group of players that want to be successful, want to do well for their country.
"That's another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don't concede goals, you always have a chance to win the game.
"It was nice to get John on the pitch and I thought his finish was really good because it wasn't easy. It was nice to be able to look at the bench behind and know we had people who could come on and affect the game. It's nice when we get everybody fit and available."
The victory was Scotland's first in a competitive match since September 2023, when they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
They had gone 10 games without a competitive victory since then, drawing four and losing six, including a return of just one point from three outings at Euro 2024.
Denmark 1-2 Spain: Oyarzabal and Perez on target as Roja secure top spot
Spain secured top spot in Group A4 of the Nations League with one match to spare after defeating Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez were on the scoresheet as the unbeaten Roja made it four wins and a draw to pull six points clear of the second-placed Danes.
Luis de la Fuente's side capitalised on a poor pass from Denmark centre-back Jannik Vestergaard to open the scoring as Oyarzabal latched on to a ball from Perez and finished past Kasper Schmeichel in the 15th minute.
Villarreal forward Perez then doubled the visitors' lead in the 58th minute after Dani Olmo turned provider with a defence-splitting pass.
The hosts reduced the deficit with six minutes of regulation time left, as Fabian Ruiz's back pass to goalkeeper David Raya was intercepted by Gustav Isaksen, who had been denied by the woodwork moments earlier, and he slotted into an open goal to set up a tense ending.
But the Spaniards held on for the win and will now face Switzerland in their final group game on Monday, before taking part in the quarter-finals, scheduled for March.
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