Man City beat Chelsea as Haaland picks up where he left off
The Premier League opening weekend seemed to have been building towards this, its most eye-catching fixture.
The opening stages were a little anticlimactic however, with both sides settling into a new campaign and struggling to create chances.
Reigning champions City were the quicker to settle as they began their quest for a fifth successive Premier League crown, and their pressure eventually paid dividends midway through the first half when Erling Haaland held off Marc Cucurella and retained his composure to score on matchday one in the third successive season, dinking over the onrushing Robert Sánchez.
The Chelsea stopper was beaten then, but it was his heroics that kept Enzo Maresca’s men in the game going into the latter stages of the first half when he produced a stunning full-stretch save to tip Jérémy Doku’s effort over the bar.
The Blues then thought they’d drawn level on the stroke of HT when Nicolas Jackson slammed home from close range after Ederson spilled Cole Palmer’s stinging drive, but the assistant referee’s flag spared the Brazilian’s blushes.
Pep Guardiola reacted to that scare by introducing Phil Foden at HT, but it was Haaland who came close to extending their advantage after the break, as his curling left-footed effort was palmed to safety by Sánchez.
The Chelsea stopper was eventually picking the ball out the back of his net soon after when Rico Lewis slammed home a loose ball from inside the area, but a Haaland foul on Levi Colwill in the build up ensured City’s lead remained a slender one.
Marseca threw four of his numerous new signings on in an attempt to force their way back into the game, but it was one of their old boys who ensured they would head home empty handed on opening day, as Mateo Kovačić drove from deep and unleashed an effort from the edge of the box that was too hot for Sánchez to handle.
That capped off a perfect start to the season for City, while for Chelsea there are still questions over their credentials ahead of their UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier against Servette in midweek.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mateo Kovačić (Manchester City)
