Manchester City kicks off EPL title defense with a comfortable win

 

New Manchester City signing Erling Haaland got off to an impressive debut in the Premier League as he scored a brace in the champion’s 2-0 win against West Ham in London.

Manchester City signed the Norwegian striker from Borussia Dortmund this summer for a fee of around 50 million pounds, and although the striker didn’t have a comprehensive preseason with Pep Guardiola’s side, he managed to still be at his best in the Premier League opener winning and scoring a penalty just before halftime against the Hammers.

The Norwegian striker scored his second after the hour mark in the second half to see off a stubborn West Ham United and hand Manchester City a winning start to the campaign.

Meanwhile, Manchester United started their season on a losing note as manager Erik ten Hag lost on his Premier League debut to Brighton, who secured their first away win at Old Trafford with a 2:1 victory over the Red Devils.

The Red Devils started the game without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was on the bench, but Brighton went ahead through striker Pascal Gross who scored twice in the first half to give the visitors the lead going into the break.

United eventually scored a consolation from Mac Allister’s own goal in the 69th minute of the game but couldn’t secure a point from the game.

The Premier League started on Friday evening with Arsenal’s impressive display from a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace.

Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring in the first twenty minutes of the game, while Bukayo Saka rounded up the scoring later in the second half.

Tottenham got a 4-1 win over Southampton while Chelsea pipped Everton 1-0. The biggest upset from the weekend came from Craven Cottage, where Alexander Mitrovic pushed Fulham to a 2-2 draw against Liverpool.

Darwin Nunez and Mohammed Salah got the goals for Liverpool to peg back the promoted side twice. Leicester City suffered the same result against Brentford, losing a 2-goal advantage to draw 2-2.

Bournemouth got a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on their return to the Premier League, but Nottingham Forest lost 2-0 at Newcastle United.

 

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu