LONDON — Erling Haaland scored twice on his Premier League debut as Manchester City opened their title defense with a 2-0 victory at West Ham on Sunday.
Haaland has lived up to the hype since joining from Borussia Dortmund to give the champions a perfect start to the season in the scorching heat of East London.
West Ham nearly ended City’s title chances when they led 2-0 at half-time in the penultimate game of last season before Pep Guardiola’s men battled for the point that eventually ousted Liverpool at the top of the table.
But this time they fell short as Haaland immediately proved City’s worth by adding a proven goalscorer to his arsenal.
The Norwegian was signed as a long-term successor to Sergio Aguero and, as the club’s top scorer, started his career in City with a brace on his league debut.
Haaland had missed chances in City’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool in the Community Shield, but Guardiola’s warning that the goals were soon to sink proved correct.
“We know we have a threat there. He’s an incredible runner and finisher,” Guardiola said.
“He adapts perfectly to the way we want to play. We will find him more and more often and hopefully we can give him the opportunity to score more goals.”
City’s patient possession game wore the Hammers down as temperatures soared above 30 degrees Celsius in the English capital on Sunday.
Haaland took charge of opening his Premier League account from the penalty spot after being knocked down by Alphonse Areola.
West Ham started the second half with more attacking intent but that played into City’s new weapon as Kevin De Bruyne split their defense with a pass to counterattack for Haaland to gallop on goal and past Areola.
- Editor / additional report by AFP
