Manchester City Launches Premier League Title Defense with 2-0 Victory Against Chelsea
Manchester City defeated Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the opening match of their Premier League championship defense.
Mateo Kovacic scored against his old team, while Erling Haaland scored his 91st goal in his 100th City appearance, giving Pep Guardiola’s team the ideal start to their pursuit of a record-tying fifth consecutive English premier league championship.
In Enzo Maresca’s first game in charge of Chelsea, Manchester City defeated Chelsea 2-0 thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic, launching them on a winning start in their Premier League championship defence. Before Kovacic scored on his return to Stamford Bridge, Haaland celebrated his 100th game for the team with his 91st goal.
This gave Pep Guardiola’s team the ideal start to their quest for a record-tying fifth consecutive English premier league title. All four of City’s Euro 2024 finalists—Rodri, Kyle Waker, John Stones, and Phil Foden—were absent from the beginning because Guardiola chose to give them more time off to recuperate after their summertime commitments.
Even so, the winners managed to leave their mark on one of the few teams in the league that they were unable to defeat the previous year. Maresca’s challenging assignment is to shape a cohesive team out of Chelsea’s huge roster, which includes 43 players and over 50 players on loan.
The fallout from those tough choices was evident even before the game began, as Raheem Sterling’s camp issued a statement expressing their disappointment at not being included in the matchday squad.
Among others who did not receive squad numbers were Romelu Lukaku and Conor Gallagher, and Ben Chilwell was another to be cut. Maresca did not start with any of Chelsea’s nine summer acquisitions to date.
Surprisingly enough, Enzo Fernandez was named captain even though he had been involved in a race dispute over a social media post following Argentina’s Copa America victory the previous month.
On the other hand, City are a prime example of consistency and flawless performance. Haaland, one of the few players for City who had a summer off from international competitions, made an impression in just eighteen minutes.
Bernardo Silva deflected Jeremy Doku’s low cross into his path, and the Norwegian coolly dinked over Robert Sanchez. Doku’s deflected shot was turned over by Sanchez after Kevin De Bruyne curled inches wide. However, Chelsea had the better of the first half and ought to have tied the score at the interval.
Ederson mishandled Cole Palmer’s soft shot, but Nicolas Jackson’s foolish offside saved him before he could convert the rebound. When Savinho, who was playing his first Premier League game, was forced off injured at halftime, Foden was brought into action sooner than Guardiola would have liked.
The slower tempo than usual for a significant Premier League match was indicative of many players’ lack of pre-season playing time. While Chelsea put forth the most effort to tie the score, they also gave City opportunities to increase their lead.
Haaland was denied by Sanchez with a great save moments later, and then De Bruyne blasted just inches off target while unmarked at the edge of the area once more.
But the goal that decided their fate belonged to Chelsea’s goalkeeper. Because Sanchez acted clumsily, Kovacic was able to break through the midfield unopposed and aim into the top corner, which he found.
