Haaland caps 100th game with goal 91

LONDON — Erling Haaland marked his 100th appearance for Manchester City by netting his 91st goal in a 2-0 win at Chelsea on Sunday, as City began its campaign for an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title.

It also took his tally to five goals in three league openers since joining City in 2022, and showed that the Norwegian is fully rested after a summer without the strains of international soccer.

"I had a sense that he feels better than last season at this stage," City manager Pep Guardiola said. "He feels good, and the goal was magnificent."

Haaland gave his team the lead in the 18th minute and Mateo Kovacic added a strike from just outside the area in the 84th, putting the seal on the win and subjecting new Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca to defeat in his first league game in charge.

Also Sunday, Brentford beat Crystal Palace 2-1 after benefitting from a disputed refereeing decision in the first half.

At Stamford Bridge, Haaland's opener came when he received the ball on the edge of the area and cut between Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella before dinking the ball past Robert Sanchez.

"I knew exactly what to do, I think it was a really good goal," Haaland said.

Guardiola praised Manchester City's attitude to defy a disrupted preseason and get its Premier League title defense off to a winning start.

City was shorn of all four of their Euro 2024 finalists — Rodri, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden — from the start, as Guardiola opted to give them extra time off to recover from their summer exertions.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji did play the 90 minutes, despite their late return to training after reaching the knockout stages of the Euros.

Yet, the champion was still able to lay down a marker against one of the few sides it failed to beat in the league last season.

"I really didn't expect it. I know what these guys can do, but not on the first day with the lack of training," said Guardiola.

"We only had two or three days to prepare, but we made up for what we lacked with our commitment.

"You cannot imagine how privileged and fortunate I am to live these experiences with this incredible group of players."

Maresca has the tough task of molding a functioning team unit from a bloated Chelsea squad that has 43 players and over 50 on the books including those on loan.

Sterling axed

The consequences of those difficult decisions played out even before kickoff, as Raheem Sterling's camp released a statement expressing his dismay at being left out of the matchday squad.

Ben Chilwell was another to face the cull, while Conor Gallagher and Romelu Lukaku are among those not to have been handed squad numbers.

None of Chelsea's nine summer signings to date were included in Maresca's starting lineup.

Even more surprisingly, Enzo Fernandez was named captain, despite being embroiled in a race row over a post on social media after Argentina's Copa America victory last month.

City, by contrast, is a model of continuity and consistent excellence.

Haaland was one of City's few stars to have had a summer off from international tournaments, and took just 18 minutes to make his mark.

Jeremy Doku's low cross was deflected by Silva into the Norwegian's path, and he coolly dinked the ball over Chelsea stopper Sanchez.

But, Chelsea ended the first half in the ascendency and should have been level before the break.

Ederson spilled Cole Palmer's tame shot, but was bailed out by Nicolas Jackson straying needlessly offside before he turned in the rebound.

Foden was forced into action earlier than Guardiola would have hoped, joining the fray at halftime, as the lively Savinho was forced off injured on his Premier League debut.

The lack of preseason minutes for many on show was apparent in the game's more pedestrian pace than normal.

Chelsea did most of the pressing for an equalizer, but, in doing so, offered City chances to extend its lead.

"I think we competed very well for much of the game. We were similar if not better," said Maresca.

"The performance was there, but we didn't take the chances. Probably the big difference was inside the box."

Sanchez made a fine save to deny Haaland a second goal, but the Spaniard was at fault for the strike that sealed its fate.

Kovacic was allowed to burst through the midfield unchallenged and took aim for the top corner, which he found thanks to a weak hand from Sanchez.

Win without Toney

Brentford didn't need Ivan Toney to start the season with a win, and may have to do without the England striker in the future as well.

Toney was left out of the squad because of what Brentford manager Thomas Frank described as "transfer interest" in the forward, but Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa were on hand to score for the host.

"I think every single time Ivan hasn't played, Wissa has stepped up, and I think he did again today," Frank said. "Bryan started last season fantastically, and is now up to speed again."

Wissa bundled the winner into the net in the 76th minute after Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson got his hands to a deflected shot by Nathan Collins, but pushed it onto the legs of the Brentford forward.

Mbeumo opened the scoring in the 29th, before Palace equalized through an Ethan Pinnock own goal.

Palace was aggrieved, though, as Mbeumo's goal came just minutes after the visiting side had a goal disallowed at the other end.

Eberechi Eze caught Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken out with a long-distance freekick from the right, hitting a shot straight into the net via the near post, when Brentford was expecting a delivery into the box. However, referee Sam Barrott whistled for a foul on Palace midfielder Will Hughes as he jostled for position in a scrum of players on the edge of the area. While the decision enraged Palace manager Oliver Glasner, VAR could not review it as Barrott's whistle came before the ball had gone into the net.

"I was told that he blew too early and made the mistake," Glasner said. "I think everyone was surprised the referee whistled so early. We thought it was a goal, but the rules are that, when the referee whistles, the goal doesn't count. It is what it is."

AP