Haaland bags brace as City begin Premier League title defence with thumping win

Manchester City started their title defence on the perfect note as they comfortably dispatched Vincent Kompany’s Burnley with a 3-0 victory in the Premier League curtain-raiser on Friday night. A first-half brace from Erling Haaland and a late third from Rodri powered the reigning champions to a straightforward win at Turf Moor against last season’s Championship winners.

Pep Guardiola’s side put away the disappointment of losing the Community Shield to Arsenal last Sunday in style as Erling Haaland gave City the lead inside four minutes. The Norwegian bagged an incredible 52 goals across all competitions for the Cityzens last season and picked up where he left off in the new campaign, volleying home from Rodri’s header to put his team ahead.

Burnley showed promising signs after going 1-0 down, with the home side’s stifling press forcing a few nervy moments from the City backline. The hosts had a penalty shout turned down by referee Craig Pawson, while Luca Koleosho blazed his effort over the bar after a well-worked team move.

Manchester City lost Kevin de Bruyne to an injury midway through the first half, with the Belgian trudging off on 24 minutes after tweaking his hamstring. Pep Guardiola shuffled the system following his captain’s injury as Matteo Kovacic slotted in a deeper role in midfield alongside Rodri.

However, it didn’t long for the visitors to rediscover their groove as they doubled their lead on 36minutes, with Burnley stung by the brilliance of Haaland yet again. Julian Alvarez set up the Norwegian from Kyle Walker’s cutback, and the striker unleashed a stinging finish from the penalty area into the top corner to give City a two-goal cushion.

City dominated the second period with ease, eventually finding a third in the 75^th minute. Nathan Ake and Erling Haaland failed to convert Phil Foden’s free-kick, but Rodri pounced on the goal-mouth scramble to bundle the ball past James Trafford and put City 3-0 in front.

The defending champions kept up their composure throughout the second period to see the game out comfortably. Anass Zaroury’s injury-time red card for a foul on Kyle Walker rubbed salt in the wounds for Burnley, but there were some signs of promise for Vincent Kompany’s side against his former club on their return to the top-flight.

Three-time champions Manchester City, though, proved to be too much of a challenge for the newly-promoted side, and Pep Guardiola’s side will have their eyes on more silverware as they take on Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup Final on Wednesday.