The EPL is back and make no mistakes, City remain Hungry
New season, same old Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian looked determined and simply kicked on from where he stopped last season putting Burnley to the sword with precise touches, majestic finish and his haphazard runs to wear out the Premier League newbies.
This was a more pragmatic Burnley than the one that went toe-to-toe with City in the FA Cup in March and felt the harsh realities of facing the impending treble winners as a second-tier side. Six unanswered goals went in that evening at the Etihad and Kompany was eager to show he had learned his lesson from former tutor Guardiola.
On Friday, five defenders were set across the back to limit the space to thread passes through for Haaland et al, while Sander Berge and captain Josh Cullen made sure there was an added layer of protection in front. The Norwegian arrived at Burnley on Wednesday but already looked to have learned the complex demands of Kompany for a midfielder.
But there was a big issue for all Burnley and Kompany’s ingenuity, Erling Haaland. It took the Norwegian striker just four minutes to score his first goal on the Premier League’s opening night, and by the time he walked off at half-time he had two. He was substituted 10 minutes from time with the game over at 3-0 and his job done.
After 35 minutes, the Norwegian had touched the ball nine times and scored twice. His second was a thing of beauty, whipping his finish into the top corner with his left foot from a standing start. Haaland will score plenty more this season, but he might not get a better one than that. You could tell by the smirk on his face as he celebrated that he liked it.
Haaland has now scored opening day braces in each of his last four seasons — twice for Borussia Dortmund and twice for City — so it really shouldn’t be a surprise. You’d think people would learn not to write him off after drawing a blank in the Community Shield.
Deadly. Just brilliant,” Shearer tweeted and it is like the sixth former insisting he plays against the primary kids in the schoolyard. And yet, remarkably, Pep Guardiola was not happy at half-time. As he strode across the pitch he berated a disgruntled looking Haaland and angrily pushed away a TV camera as it tried to close in on the pair. Was there a problem? Or was it just another sign of the incredible standards?
“That was from the last action, when I got a bit mad because Bernardo [Silva] didn’t play me [in],” Haaland explained. “So [Guardiola] was mad at me.” It was an exposure of what is being demanded with Guardiola explaining that Haaland wanted Bernardo to play the ball more quickly to him with the midfielder refusing to do so as City had lost possession cheaply a couple of times before that.
An argument ensued between Pep and Haaland at half-time
Burnley, whose substitute Anass Zaroury was sent off in stoppage time, had their moments and there was enough there to suggest Vincent Kompany’s side have every chance of staying in the division. With an average age of 23 years and 206 days, Burnley fielded the youngest ever starting XI in Premier League history which also included five new signings, and the hope will be that they will grow into the challenge of turning Championship dominance into top-flight survival. Kompany will be disappointed to concede from two set pieces but few teams, regardless of experience, can live with the ruthlessness of Haaland.
The worry for the rest of the league is that this is usually the time when City are at their most vulnerable. A team conditioned to finish the season strongly rather than lead from the front, they dropped seven points in their first 10 games last season — the same number as they dropped in their final 17 games and even that included a draw and a defeat when the title had already been won.
Ruben Dias – concussion – and John Stones – not fully fit –where obvious absentees and this are further signs of their strengths. New signing Josko Gvardiol was needed for just 12 minutes. The rest teams can as well camp outside Florentino Perez’s house in Madrid to sign Erling Haaland for his strikerless team (no disrespect Joselu )
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