Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scores twice in league debut in win over West Ham | Premier League

This season will be a familiar sight: Kevin De Bruyne picks up the ball in the middle of the pitch, heads up to play a pass-through that shreds the defense, Erling Haaland pulls away from the marker and cools off. I scored the finish.I overtook the desperate goalkeeper.

Who said Pep Guardiola didn’t know what to do with the striker? city ​​of manchester, early evidence is that their new number 9 won’t upset Guardiola’s passing machine. Thank you for making my way to a sleepy 2-0 win easier. Wavelength as his new teammate.

For City, the focus over the summer was finding ways to stay motivated. In a way, Guardiola follows Sir Alex Ferguson’s formula of selling Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to renew from a strong position, but the principle remains. It soon became clear that it was about evolution, not revolution, and that it was more or less the same city, with one crucial difference. I am smashing the ball in the back of the net.

Eyes were immediately drawn to Harland. COMMUNITY It even looked like the 22-year-old had questions to answer after a nerve-wracking finish when City lost to Liverpool in the Shield. For example, is English football physically too strong for a player accustomed to the Bundesliga’s less solid defense? What did Guardiola have in store for the former Borussia Dortmund striker? Left Side back stint? Work as an auxiliary right wing?

The answer, of course, was to put Phil Foden and Jack Grealish on the flanks and Haaland in midfield.

The effect was that City’s dominance was absolute during a disappointing match. With Kurt Zouma as sole centre-back, West Ham sometimes had no way out of their own half.

The signs were worrying. West Ham wanted to attack City at half-time. Joao Cancelo was concerned about Jarrod Bowen’s runs from the right flank, but too often the lack of quality let them down. The game overtook Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals, with Declan Rice looking to push his side, while the West Ham captain tried to silence City’s creative threat.

City’s goal was looming. In the 21st minute, Foden cut into his left foot and delivered a cross that teased Haaland. Holland pulled away from Ben Johnson and grimaced when he missed a header.

He would eventually find his touch, but it was a disappointing mistake, with a crowd of 62,500 initially driving David Moyes’ team into a frenzy, but frustration quickly set in. Sometimes there was even a feeling that the Moyes project was getting a little stale, staying under the surface.

The pressure was constant as Antonio failed to hold onto the ball. Grealish always attacked Vladimir Kfar on the left, but in the 27th minute the home side’s shot saw Gundogan easily score De Bruyne to raise the flag for offside.

The game yielded to Guardiola’s tactical will. West Ham midfield screeners Rice and Thomas Suchek didn’t know where to look. There always seemed to be a spare yellow shirt, and the ruse finally paid off. Gundogan moved forward and played a pass, Haaland ran with perfect timing and the injured Lukasz his Fabianski and freshly replaced Alfonse his Areola scored the goal.

It was a clear penalty and there was no doubt when Haaland stepped up to take it. The finish was unmistakable, with a low left-foot strike firing an arrow into the bottom right corner, sending Areola the opposite direction.

After an unsigned start to the summer, West Ham needed a fresh approach. They played with more energy in the second half and Moyes took the bet to replace Antonio with his new £35.5m striker Gianluca Schamacca. There was a brief flicker from West Ham. Saeed Benrama, also coming on as a substitute, had a shot that was tamed by Ederson. Rice shoots over after defensive confusion.

Yet City always looked more likely to score again. Gundogan wasted a good chance and the game was safe when De Bruyne cut through West Ham with 25 minutes remaining. The pass was stunningly beautiful, and when Haaland cleared the groove on the inside right and spread his body to handle the ball with his left foot, no one on the ground should have thought he was going. . miss.