Erling Haaland stars as Manchester City beat Burnley to kick off Premier League title defence

Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City began their Premier League title defence with a comfortable 3-0 victory over promoted Burnley. Haaland netted the first goal of the new Premier League season inside four minutes before doubling the champions’ lead with a superb finish. Rodri added a third in the second half as Man City, who are chasing a fourth successive league title, enjoyed an ideal start to the season, though they lost Kevin de Bruyne to injury.

Despite the scoreline and a late red card to Anass Zaroury, there were some positives to take for a Burnley team who amassed more than 100 points to win the Championship last season. But Burnley’s return to the Premier League was marred by a supporter throwing an object at Man City defender Rico Lewis and another fan attempting to invade the pitch. The pre-match taking of the knee was also booed by some fans.

First Half

Kompany gave debuts to five summer signings – including former Manchester City starlet and England U21 Euros winner James Trafford – while the treble-winners had new additions Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic on the bench.

It did not take long for City to breach Burnley’s defence as Premier League Golden Boot holder Haaland poked home from inside the area after Rodri’s header back across goal. Haaland volleyed over shortly after while De Bruyne failed to hit the target from long-range before Burnley had their first chance, Luca Koleosho rifling over from inside the box. Fellow Burnley summer signing Zeki Amdouni also got a shot away that failed to trouble Ederson before Man City lost their captain De Bruyne to a hamstring injury.

Burnley were enjoying their best period of the game as Amdouni almost raced through on goal and Lyle Foster won the ball back high up the pitch before curling an effort wide.

Second Half

But Manchester City soon doubled their lead to dampen the mood at Turf Moor, Haaland whipping a superb finish in off the crossbar. Burnley attempted to hit back as Amdouni dispossessed Bernardo Silva before his shot was well blocked by Manuel Akanji.

While Manchester City were in control, Guardiola let his emotions get the better of him as he received a yellow card in the second half and berated Haaland during the interval. Burnley goalkeeper Trafford, who did not make an appearance for City, palmed Rodri’s long-range strike over and denied the same player from the subsequent corner.

But Rodri put the game to bed with 15 minutes remaining, smashing high into the net after the ball fell fortuitously to his feet in the box. Burnley’s evening got worse in injury-time as Zaroury, who came on as a second-half substitute, was sent off after a VAR review for a late tackle on Kyle Walker.

Conclusion

Erling Haaland starred as Manchester City kicked off their Premier League title defence with a comfortable 3-0 victory over promoted Burnley. Despite some positives for Burnley, their return to the Premier League was marred by a supporter throwing an object at Man City defender Rico Lewis and another fan attempting to invade the pitch. The pre-match taking of the knee was also booed by some fans.

Haaland netted the first goal of the new Premier League season inside four minutes before doubling the champions’ lead with a superb finish. Rodri added a third in the second half as Man City, who are chasing a fourth successive league title, enjoyed an ideal start to the season, though they lost Kevin de Bruyne to injury.

For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.