Foden pleased to be off the mark as Manchester City maintain perfect Premier League record against plucky Ipswich

Phil Foden was delighted to score his first Premier League goal since December Manchester City they maintained their record of 100% at Premier League with a nervous victory over Ipswich.

The England midfielder was making his first League appearance since his red card in the Manchester derby and capped a fine performance with the opener as City won 3-2.

City’s goal was a matter of time – Foden

Foden told BBC Match of the Day: “It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve obviously missed a few big chances this season, I knew it would be a matter of time before it came. Enzo (Maresca) said he was going to score today, so thanks to him. I think he gave me the luck I needed, so obviously I’m delighted to help the team. I was close to getting the three points today.

“It gives you a lot of confidence, it gets us out and we want to express ourselves and give back to the manager. Today I tried to do the best I could.”

Foden struck from Jeremy Doku’s delivery to put City ahead but Ipswich equalized when Daizen Maeda raced into the box and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma clinically as part of an incisive move.

Erling Haaland He headed Mateo Kovacic’s cross past grounded keeper Christian Walton to restore City’s lead at half-time and produced a composed touch and finish from Iliman Ndiaye’s pass to extend their lead in the second period.

An offside decision by the video assistant denied Haaland a third as the Norwegian striker fired over seconds after Ndiaye hit the crossbar, and Zian Flemming then converted a penalty following a Marc Guehi foul on Abdul Fatawu.

“It wasn’t pretty, I think they played really well,” added Foden. “They put a lot of pressure on us and made it very difficult for us. Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty in the Premier League. All the teams are so good now and it’s always going to be a big challenge. To come away with the three points, that was the most important thing. Overall, we’re very happy.”

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O’Neil is proud of the stalwart Ipswich

Ipswich can also take a lot from the game with boss Gary O’Neill delighted with their display.

He told Sky Sports: “Really proud of the group. I think they tested themselves today. There are things we could have done better. I was very disappointed with the second goal because it’s something we had covered. When I say covered, I really mean covered. That disappointed me after coming back.

“Towards the end, we showed a bit too much enthusiasm and not enough quality. We missed some fantastic opportunities, but very proud of the group. To get on top and be able to lead a team with this effort, this adventure and the support we have, I’m very proud because it really is an excellent group.”

“We came here looking for points and I really thought we could have got it. We didn’t get it and that’s disappointing, but whether it was a couple of mistakes from our side like for the goal, whether it was the three offsides that weren’t offsides that went against us that were crazy, you only get six tackles at the Etihad so to miss three of them, you just have to leave the VAR.”