Man City fell behind to a Noni Madueke opener inside three minutes after debutant Abdukodir Khusanov's mistake; the hosts came roaring back with a leveller from Josko Gvardiol and second-half strikes from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden powered an impressive comeback as Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-1 to reinsert themselves in the Premier League's top four after slipping as low as seventh earlier on Saturday.
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Wins for Newcastle and Bournemouth had seen City slide towards mid-table but a resurgent display, coming from a goal behind, means they rejoin Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and leaders Liverpool in the Champions League places, while Chelsea slip to sixth.
Enzo Maresca's well-rested Blues played havoc with a laboured City side early on, still reeling from their midweek collapse in Paris against PSG, as young defender Abdukodir Khusanov - one of two debutants alongside Omar Marmoush - suffered an opening night to forget.
Man City's new centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov gifts Chelsea an early opener in their Premier League clash
The 20-year-old, signed five days prior from Lens for £33.5m and hooked after 52 minutes, endured what Jamie Redknapp called a "nightmare start", nodding a bouncing ball towards Ederson in the third minute, who wasn't there, allowing Noni Madueke to tap into an empty net.
Khusanov was then booked for a rash challenge on Cole Palmer, with Gary Neville describing his Premier League introduction as "brutal".
Josko Gvardiol equalised for Man City following a mistake from Marc Cucurella in their clash with Chelsea in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola had warned midweek that City were in survival mode and struggling to compete with the best teams, and so it proved, until Josko Gvardiol unearthed a timely equaliser shortly before half time.
Gvardiol twice went close as he blasted over from close range and then dabbed wide but his persistence was finally rewarded when Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez made a horrible mess of an attempted clearance and a fortunate ricochet fell his way.
From that moment the game flipped, and the hosts rediscovered a slice of the confidence the Eithad crowd have become accustomed to under Guardiola's esteemed rule - City have won more points from losing positions than any other side in the Premier League this season (17).
Player ratings:
Man City: Ederson (8), Nunes (6), Khusanov (5), Akanji (6), Gvardiol (8), Gundogan (7), Kovacic (6), Bernardo (6), Marmoush (7), Foden (7), Haaland (7).
Subs: Stones (6), De Bruyne (6).
Chelsea: Sanchez (3), Cucurella (5), Colwill (6), Chalobah (5), James (6), Enzo (6), Caicedo (6), Sancho (6), Palmer (6), Madueke (6), Jackson (5).
Subs: Nkunku (5), Gusto (5), Neto (5).
Player of the Match: Josko Gvardiol
Redknapp: Pep made a mistake starting Khusanov
"I said before the game I thought it was a risk to start him [Khusanov]. It's less of a risk for Marmoush. When you're playing as a centre-back, it's a lot more difficult, with the risk and the pressure that's on you.
"I think Pep, right now, will be saying, 'I shouldn't have played him.' He's 20 years of age, he's just come to the country, the team hasn't got any confidence as a defensive unit, and you've got Matheus Nunes as your right-back.
"It's not like the team is winning week in, week out. Last year, this would have been an easy job. But this season it's a lot more difficult. I think throwing him into an environment like this today was a mistake."
Liverpool 4 Ipswich Town 1
The Reds scored three goals in the first half to effectively end the game as a contest, and even looked like going eight clear with a game in hand until 10-man Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nevertheless Liverpool did what they had to do to stay on course for a second league title in six years, with Gakpo scoring in either half, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah also netted.
Ipswich were thrashed 6-0 at home by reigning champions Manchester City in their last outing and arrived at Anfield clearly determined to avoid a similar scoreline.
They barely offered any attacking threat as they sat deep to try to frustrate Liverpool, but their resistance lasted just 11 minutes as an incisive attack by the Reds opened them up, Ibrahima Konate threading a ball through to Szoboszlai, who drove a shot in at the near post.
Salah has accounted for the majority of Liverpool's goals at Anfield, so it was no surprise when he got on the scoresheet 10 minutes before the break, firing into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
A third duly arrived just before the break when Szoboszlai's shot was parried and Gakpo was on hand to turn in the loose ball.
The second half was largely a non-event with the damage already done, but Gakpo added a fourth when he powered in a header.
The travelling fans were given something to celebrate in stoppage time when Jacob Greaves headed home a consolation from a corner.
Ipswich remain 18th, level on points with Wolves in 17th.
Bournmout beat Nottenham Forest 5-0
Bournemouth delivered an attacking masterclass to stretch their club record unbeaten Premier League run to 11 games and bring high-flying Nottingham Forest crashing down to earth at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries came in off the back of a stunning 4-1 win at Newcastle United, while Forest had been the league's surprise package as they rose to third place in the table.
It was Bournemouth who continued a brilliant sequence of form under manager Andoni Iraola, led by Dango Ouattara's hat-trick, with a performance of the highest quality to take Forest's usually miserly rearguard apart.
Justin Kluivert's 11th league goal of the campaign - and only his second at home - gave Bournemouth the lead after nine minutes when he took advantage of four Forest defenders standing off him to beat keeper Matz Sels from 25 yards.
Forest's hopes of a recovery were extinguished early in the second half when Bournemouth hit top gear, Ouattara heading home Kluivert's cross after 55 minutes then driving home the third six minutes later.
As Forest fell apart under Bournemouth's barrage, the usual reliable Sels fumbled Marcus Tavernier's shot to gift Ouattara his third, then Antoine Semenyo finished off a solo run for the fifth in stoppage time.
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