Man City 4-1 Ipswich Town: Stuart Watson's verdict

Sammie Szmodics celebrates after giving Ipswich Town a seventh minute lead at Man City. (Image: PA)

SAMMIE SCORES

Let's start with a positive. Sammie Szmodics can't stop scoring. He bagged 33 across all competitions for a struggling Blackburn side last season, he netted three in two for them at the start of this campaign and now he's notched on his full Ipswich Town debut.

If you watch the compilation of his goals from 23/24 you'll see a theme. He lurks on the last shoulder, charges onto through balls and coolly converts under pressure. That's exactly what happened in the seventh minute of this game when Town took a shock lead at the Etihad.

National League, League Two, League One, Championship and Premier League - the Colchester-born front man has now scored in the top five divisions of English football. Hard graft, non-linear career stories like his should act as inspiration to any footballer.

Erling Haaland sends Aro Muric the wrong way from the spot for 1-1. (Image: PA)

STAY DISCIPLINED

Pep Guardiola started tricky new Brazilian winger Savinho on the left in his side's Premier League opener at Chelsea. He switched him to the right for this game in a clear attempt to pin Leif Davis back. It worked.

Savinho repeatedly got into one-v-one situations with Davis, squaring him up and then darting away with a body feint and burst of acceleration. That's what £30m gets you.

It's easy to say from afar, but Davis should have shepherded his opponent towards the byline in the 12th minute. Instead, he stuck out a leg, tripped him just inside the area and Erling Haaland tucked away the spot-kick.

"It's not a very dangerous situation," rued Kieran McKenna. "Being disciplined enough to not give away the penalty is important."

How would this game have played out if Town had managed to keep their lead for 10-15 minutes? We'll never know. 

An error from Aro Muric (left) led to Kevin de Bruyne giving Man City the lead. (Image: PA)

SELF HARM

Having passed a late fitness test, Aro Muric was handed his Town debut at the club he came through the youth ranks at. It was not a happy homecoming.

There's no getting away from it, the Kosovan keeper was badly at fault for City's second and third goals.

With home tails up, why did he dally on the ball so long after exchanging short passes with Jacob Greaves? Savinho was on him in a flash and Kevin De Bruyne stroked into an empty net. 

Then a dash off the line to try and claim a perfectly-weighted lofted De Bruyne pass left him in no man's land. Haaland, unsurprisingly, was there to punish the mistake.

Liverpool scored two goals in five minutes at Portman Road last weekend and could have added more in a short spell where the Blues badly wobbled. This time three goals were leaked inside 191 seconds. 

In League One and the Championship, Town's first thought after conceding was to go and score themselves. In the Premier League, the mindset has to be about staying compact, concentrated and making sure another one against doesn't quickly follow.

Muric, to his credit, made a super reaction save to keep out a close-range Haaland header in the second half. Remember, debuts don't define players. The likes of Davis and Sone Aluko had difficult first games for Town when not fully fit.

Leif Davis goes down in the box under pressure from Rico Lewis and Savinho. (Image: PA)

WHY NO VAR?

Having had their crossbar rattled twice at 3-1, Town mounted a rare attack towards the end of the first half. Davis cut inside Rico Lewis from the left to enter the box and was barged into by the frantically back-tracking Savinho.

Did the referee think the Blues left-back was already going to ground as the contact was made? That's the only reason I can think for him not pointing to the spot.

Still, at least VAR could have a proper a look. Wrong. The technology that had been used to award City their penalty opener was deemed redundant on this occasion.

"I promised myself I wouldn't speak too often about VAR coming into this league, but I don't understand why the fourth official gave a signal that it had been turned down for a VAR check," said McKenna. 

"The only difference, you could say, is that for their one the play as stopped, while City kept the ball for a minute after our appeal and it's easier then to forget.

"When I saw it live I thought it was nailed on and in the replay I've seen Leif is having one arm pulled and another defender swipe across his legs. It's hard to see how it's not given."

How would this game have played out had Town gone into the break only 3-2 down? Again, we'll never know.

Refereeing decisions going the way of the big 

The second half was a bit of a non-event. Ipswich moved more to a back five in an attempt to limit the damage. City were in cruise control. Haaland completed his hat-trick late on with a low shot from 20 yards.  

Erling Haaland forced a fine save out of Aro Muric with this header. (Image: PA)

PERSPECTIVE TIME

I said it in the build-up and I'll say it again. Just two years ago, Ipswich's first trip of the season was at Forest Green Rovers. Now we're picking the bones out of defeat at the home of the four-in-a-row Premier League champions.

Yes, it's important to look forward, not back. Retaining a healthy sense of perspective is important too.

Town are without three key attackers in the injured trio of Wes Burns, Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst. They have new signings Kalvin Phillips, Jens Cajuste and Jack Clarke still to integrate. Others, starting with centre-back Dara O'Shea, will arrived before Friday's 11pm deadline.

In a period of major adaptation, Ipswich have been highly competitive against Liverpool for an hour and kept Man City out for 72 minutes. It's taken two of English football's giants to finally inflict back-to-back league defeats on McKenna as a manager.

Hopefully this baptism of fire will have forged some steel. In many ways, the season starts now.