When it came to finishing, Erling Haaland was back to his old tricks as Manchester City launched the Premier League championship defense with a convincing victory at Burnley.
The prolific scorer, who last season helped City win the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League with 52 goals, scored his first goal of the new season in just 185 seconds, dealing the newly promoted Clarets a blow from which they never fully recovered.
After Rodri misjudged Kevin de Bruyne’s cross, Haaland pounced in the area, and after 36 minutes, the game was practically over thanks to his stunning left-footed effort into the top corner beyond Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford.
Burnley, encouraged by a boisterous home crowd, never gave up, but City’s dominance got more resolute as time went on. Rodri scored the third goal with 15 minutes left after the home defense failed to clear a free-kick.
When De Bruyne walked off after only 23 minutes to be replaced by summer acquisition Mateo Kovacic, City’s night was only slightly soured by yet another injury.
Anass Zaroury of Burnley was sent in stoppage time following a video assistant referee review for a dangerous lunge on Kyle Walker.
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Man City have just too much Pep Guardiola, a perfectionist, was animated throughout the game, which demonstrated that Man City had too much rust even though they had opened the season with a victory.
If goal-scoring machine Haaland anticipated his manager giving him a pat on the back as he left the field at halftime, he was in for an unpleasant awakening when Guardiola gave him a stern scolding while ordering a cameraman to move out of the way.
Haaland, who displayed his deadly economy by scoring twice from just six touches in the first half, made it obvious that he wanted even more from him.
It sounds absurd to say that Haaland was frequently absent from the action, yet his skill in front of goal allows him to still make the difference and lay the groundwork for the champs’ easy victory.
While Kovacic seamlessly replaced De Bruyne in the game, Guardiola and City will be seriously concerned about the Belgian’s ongoing injury issues. He was forced to leave the Champions League final victory over Inter Milan after just 36 minutes due to a significant hamstring injury, and he spent the summer rehabilitating. He had a dejected expression as he left this field.
City will be hoping that the injury to such a crucial player, who had previously assisted Haaland in scoring the game’s first goal, is not severe because the rest of their inaugural Premier League night went well.
Burnley can remain optimistic despite losing
Burnley will improve, says Kompany
As manager Vincent Kompany tried to plot the demise of the Treble champions and the club where he rose to fame as the club’s heroic captain during their heyday, Burnley were given the most difficult conceivable start to life back in the Premier League.
The outcome seemed inevitable when City took an early lead, but Burnley displayed genuine heart and character, even giving Guardiola’s team pause when Lyle Foster and Zeki Amdouni threatened.
They were ultimately defeated by some sloppy defending, but more so by Haaland’s predatory tendencies and inherent goal-scoring ability; they won’t be the last to experience that fate this year.
Burnley continued to use Kompany’s passing strategies that helped them win the Championship last season, and Trafford, the star goalie of England’s victory at the European Under-21 Championship in July, had a strong start against his old team.
Although this was the most rigorous test of all, Kompany’s players got a head start on what will be expected of them this season, and even though they lost, there will still be plenty to inspire them.
Before the game began, several jeers were audible when the players took a knee, and Burnley removed a fan from Turf Moor when City defender Rico Lewis was hit with a ball.
