City's Seventh Consecutive Victory

Manchester City put their continental disappointment behind them as their Italian manager, Enzo Maresca, achieved an unprecedented feat by securing his seventh victory from seven matches played so far in the English Premier League, defeating visitors Ipswich Town 3-2 on Saturday in the seventh matchday, which also saw Liverpool come from behind to beat Brentford 2-1. City entered the match following a heavy home defeat midweek against French side Paris Saint-Germain, 4-2, in the UEFA Champions League. However, they were not emotionally shaken by that loss, and thanks to a brace from Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, Maresca became the first manager in the Premier League to win all seven of his opening matches with his new club, surpassing his predecessor, Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, who won six consecutive games at the start of his tenure with the Citizens in the 2016-2017 season. City’s tally rose to 21 points, extending their lead at the top to six points over title holders Arsenal, while Ipswich remained stuck on nine points. Brentford paid the price for the red card of Ukrainian midfielder Yevhen Konoplyanka in the final moments of the first half, which they had led 1-0 thanks to a goal from Kian Lewis-Potter (44th minute). They suffered their first defeat of the season, falling 1-2 to visitors Liverpool after conceding two second-half goals through Spanish defender Victor Munoz (62nd minute) and Swedish substitute Alexander Isak, who returned from injury (70th minute). A brace from Portuguese forward Pedro Neto guided Chelsea back to winning ways as they inflicted Everton’s first defeat of the season with a clean 2-0 victory, although they lost their Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who was injured. Chelsea’s points total rose to 13, placing them fourth, and they kept a clean sheet for the first time in 23 league matches. Aston Villa returned from Newcastle with their second win of the season, thanks to a single goal from Swiss striker Johann Berg Gudmundsson (36th minute), lifting their tally to eight points and moving them to twelfth place. Fulham secured their first win of the season, defeating visitors Hull City 1-0 with a goal from Nigerian striker Alex Iwobi (33rd minute).