August 11, (THEWILL) – Manchester City began the defence of their English Premier League title on Friday night, comfortably dispatching promoted side, Burnley, 3-0 at Turf Moor.
Two clinical finishes from Erling Haaland and a late strike by Rodri, ensured a perfect start for Pep Guardiola’s men as they look to claim a fifth league crown in six seasons. Haaland wasted no time in getting off the mark for the new campaign, reacting quickest to convert Rodri’s header from a Kevin De Bruyne’s cross after just four minutes.
Burnley felt aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty soon after when Manuel Akanji appeared to foul Zeki Amdouni, but referee Craig Pawson waved away their appeals. The Norwegian striker then doubled City’s advantage on the stroke of half-time, hammering home after good work down the left from Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Julian Alvarez.
The hosts posed a threat at times with their intense pressing but struggled to create clear openings. James Trafford, facing his former club, made two excellent saves to deny Rodri. However, the Spanish midfielder eventually found the net with 15 minutes remaining, pouncing on a loose ball from a free kick to seal the points.
Anass Zaroury’s late red card for a dangerous tackle on Walker summed up a frustrating evening for Burnley, who competed admirably at times but lacked the quality to consistently trouble the champions. Vincent Kompany will take some positives from his first EPL game as manager, but recognise his side have plenty of work ahead this season.
For City, it was the ideal start as they set out to defend their crown, apart from yellow card flashed as Guardiola in the 75th minute. Clinical finishing, solidity at the back, and moments of real quality saw them cruise past tricky opening day opponents. With Haaland already off the mark, the rest of the league has been put on notice about City’s intentions this season.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
