Haaland Limps Off in City Win as Maresca Insists: 'Erling Said He Was OK'

Erling Haaland limped off at the end of Manchester City's 3-2 Premier League win over Ipswich Town on Saturday, but manager Enzo Maresca moved quickly to cool fears that the striker's blistering start to the season had been derailed. Haaland scored twice in the victory, and Maresca offered a reassuring update on his talisman afterwards.

"We will see. Erling said he was OK. I don't have any news at the moment," Maresca said when asked about the 26-year-old, who was involved in a challenge with Ipswich's Jack Clarke before limping off the pitch at full-time.

Another Milestone for a Relentless Run

Haaland's electric form continued against Ipswich, with the Norwegian scoring twice to help City make it seven wins from seven in the Premier League this season. City's number nine has now netted 100 non-penalty goals in the Premier League, reaching the milestone in fewer appearances than any other player (139). The previous fewest was 150 appearances, set by Alan Shearer in 1996. Haaland also scored for the sixth consecutive top-flight game.

Haaland has been central to City's strong start, scoring 12 goals in 10 outings across all competitions. Only Ruben Dias (855) has played more minutes among outfield players in 2026-27 than Haaland's 853.

A Record-Breaking Start Maresca Would Rather Remember

The result carried its own piece of history for the manager: Maresca has become the first manager to win each of his first seven Premier League games in charge of a team. City are also the third team to win each of their opening seven games of a Premier League season, after Liverpool in 2019-20 (first eight) and Chelsea in 2005-06 (first nine).

Injury Concerns Cloud the Win

That achievement, however, was overshadowed by a flurry of injury issues during a chaotic closing spell, with Nico O'Reilly, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Antoine Semenyo all sustaining problems along with Haaland.

"Unfortunately, in 10 minutes we had four or five players [injured] – Matheus, Kova, Erling, Antoine and Nico also – but they are inside now, and we will see," Maresca said.

"I asked all of them. Mateo and Kova said they were OK. Erling also said he was OK and Nico, it's still his back," he added. "It's still the same problem. The only one we need to wait for is Antoine."

With a demanding schedule ahead, City will now assess the fitness of a sizeable chunk of their squad as they look to protect the momentum from their flawless start to the campaign.