With thousands of miles and countless hours on the road, important victories and crushing defeats, following football is all about chasing a fleeting thrill.

When the ball landed in Ederson’s net on Saturday afternoon with just six minutes and 31 seconds left on the clock, 3,000 travelling fans experienced a feeling they will never forget.

The away end erupted as newly promoted Ipswich Town took a surprise lead over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City, with new signing Sammie Szmodics scoring their first top-flight goal in over 22 years. He began his run deep in his own half, with a hint of a counter-attack in the air, and ran onto a perfect pass from Ben Johnson before slotting the ball home.

The adrenaline must have still been pumping through your veins when Erling Haaland sent Arijanet Muric the wrong way from the penalty spot and Kevin De Bruyne curled the ball into an empty net just two minutes later. But then Haaland made it 3-1 for City, less than nine minutes after Szmodics had put the visitors ahead.

A frantic eight minutes and 48 seconds left Ipswich with memories as well as lessons. The Premier League, on and off the pitch, brings a whole new level of intensity.

After a promising performance last weekend, Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna has made a number of adjustments for the visit to the Etihad Stadium.

Ipswich were aggressive in their press against Arne Slot’s Liverpool, pushing high in an adventurous 4-2-4 formation to stifle their build-up close to goal. On Saturday they reverted to a more orthodox 4-3-3 without the ball, sitting back and shifting from side to side with the play, attempting to block the middle and send City wide.

There was still a twist in McKenna’s system, however, as newcomer Johnson stepped into midfield. Despite playing in midfield during his time at West Ham, City would have expected him to play at right-back in a five-man defence when they took to the field.

From a more central position he could drop back and team up with Axel Tuanzebe to serve City’s winger, or charge into lucrative positions on the counter.

That was exactly what Johnson was able to do for the opening goal, before the ball was turned over on the edge of the box. He made the underlapping run for Omari Hutchinson, drifted into the attacking third and passed the ball to Szmodics to score.

“That was exactly the kind of goal we wanted to score today,” McKenna said after the game, “with their high line and Szmodics and (Hutchinson) running behind them.”

As expected, Pep Guardiola’s team reacted quickly to the shock and immediately forced Ipswich to revert to the deeper formation.

Thirty seconds after the restart, City attempt to play the ball through the middle, but the ball bounces to Manuel Akanji 40 yards from goal. All 11 Ipswich players are narrow and behind the ball, leaving the pass open to Savinho.

The Brazilian quickly tries to take advantage of the one-on-one situation, getting around the outside of Leif Davis before being taken down by an outstretched leg.

Penalty. And Erling Harland rarely misses them.

If the first two goals came straight from the game plan, the third goal came from a misjudgment by Muric.

The Kosovar Ipswich keeper, who made his debut for the club against his former club, made two high-profile errors for Burnley last season, passing the ball straight to Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a relegation clash with Everton and letting the ball pass under his studs for a disastrous own goal against Brighton.

It was another moment the 25-year-old would rather forget. He drew pressure from Savinho, made a move to clear, as you can see in frame two below, before waiting a fraction too long and being dispossessed by the winger. The tackle fell into the path of De Bruyne, who promptly put City 2-1 up.

“The second goal was probably about game management today, rather than courage or playmaking,” McKenna said. “We weren’t caught passing from the back, we were just caught taking too much time on the ball in a situation where a fantastic team has just scored a goal and they’re coming after you. We’ve got to learn from that.”

Muric won’t be entirely happy with his role in the third goal either, as he raced off his line to intercept a bouncing ball from De Bruyne into Haaland. But this was more about the irresistible quality of the assist than the defending.

Once again City create the overload on the flanks, with Johnson wary of Jeremy Doku’s run into the middle. That gives De Bruyne some extra time to pick his pass before Tuanzebe rounds him, slotting the ball right into that tricky space between the defensive line and goal.

Muric gets the ball at the wrong moment and City’s No.9 is able to head the ball past the advancing keeper, before firing the ball into the empty net with his feet: 3-1.

Between that final blow and half-time, Ipswich managed just 12 touches in the attacking third, compared to City’s 154. Their form continued to slump and possession diminished, allowing the home side to take control and settle the game.

Ipswich improved as the half progressed and can count themselves unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty after Davis was passed over by Savinho. The second half saw a change in system as Johnson came on as wing-back to form a more conventional defence, giving McKenna’s side more stability in the wings, but Haaland was still able to complete his hat-trick as City eventually won 4-1.

“We couldn’t be as aggressive as we wanted in the second half but that five-minute period meant that wasn’t possible today. We had to protect ourselves a bit more,” said the Ipswich manager.

With 191 seconds between City’s three goals, it was the earliest time four goals had been scored in a Premier League match since September 2019, when City beat Watford 8-0.

It was a goal-fest that will live long in the memory, a combination of Premier League quality and tension.

(Top photo: Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images