Manchester City launched their Premier League championship defence with an easy victory against Burnley, thanks to Erling Haaland’s deadly finishing display.
The goalscoring superstar, who scored 52 goals as City won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League last season, required just 185 seconds to open his account for the new season, dealing the newly promoted Clarets a blow from which they never recovered.
When Rodri headed down Kevin de Bruyne’s cross, Haaland pounced in the area and curled in a stunning left-foot shot into the top corner beyond Burnley keeper James Trafford after 36 minutes to virtually end the game.
Burnley, spurred on by a raucous home crowd, never gave up, but City’s dominance got more pronounced as the game progressed, with Rodri scoring the third with 15 minutes remaining after the home defenders failed to clear a free-kick.
City’s night was only soured by another injury for De Bruyne, who went off after only 23 minutes and was replaced by summer signing Mateo Kovacic.
After a video and assistant referee review, Burnley had Anass Zaroury sent out in injury time for a risky lunge on Kyle Walker.
Manchester City just have too many players
Manchester City exhibited indications of rust despite starting the season with a win, as seen by the agitated conduct of fastidious manager Pep Guardiola.
If goal machine Haaland was anticipating a celebratory arm around the shoulder from his boss as he went off the pitch at halftime, he was in for a nasty revelation when Guardiola insisted a cameraman move out of range as he spoke to the striker.
He definitely expected more from Haaland, who demonstrated his lethal economy by scoring twice in the first half on only six touches.
It may seem absurd to say that Haaland was frequently on the outside of the action, but such is his talent in front of goal that he still makes the critical contribution and laid the groundwork for what turned out to be an easy victory for the champs.
Kovacic stepped in seamlessly as a replacement for De Bruyne, but the Belgian’s repeated injury issues will be a cause for concern for Guardiola and City. He spent the summer rehabilitating from a major hamstring injury that pulled him out of the Champions League final victory over Inter Milan after only 36 minutes, and he went off here looking dejected.
City will be hoping that the injury to such a vital player, who had already set up the first goal for Haaland, is not serious since the remainder of their inaugural Premier League night went well.
