Erling Haaland brilliant in debut, Ilkay Gundogan dazzles as Man City open season with dominant win at West Ham

Welcome to the Premier League in the season opener for the defending champions, Man City defeated West Ham 2-0 with a pair of goals from the big summer signing from Borussia Dortmund and a penalty.

Haaland Debuts In The Premier League, Fulfilling A Dream.

Erling Haaland, who joined Manchester Metropolis for £51 million from Borussia Dortmund, has a heavy load on his shoulders this season, therefore he needs to have a significant impact as soon as he can. In the end, scoring twice on his Premier League debut wasn’t a bad way to make an impression.

The pressure will primarily come from Haaland having to prove that he is almost as good as his reputation suggests, even though his payment is more likely to be seen as a discount in the modern sport. A failure to achieve against West Ham would have further increased the expectation after failing to achieve in the Community Protect loss to Liverpool last week while missing some easy opportunities.

However, Haaland scored both goals as City made a successful start to defending their title, and their star acquisition proved that he will be a significant contribution to Pep Guardiola’s squad. His first came from the penalty spot after Ilkay Gundogan recognised his deft move behind the Hammers’ defence.

Haaland sent Hammers substitute goalkeeper Alphonse Areola the wrong way from the spot with an accurate shot that nestled into the corner of the net after exhibiting incredible speed to win the penalty and beat him to the ball. His second goal, though, was a classic striker’s goal that demonstrated his quickness, movement, and unflappable ability to beat the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation.

Following Kevin De Bruyne’s defense-splitting manoeuvre, Haaland was able to widen his body and beat Areola with a left-footed shot into the far nook to secure the victory for Metropolis.

Haaland was hired to make a difference for City in the big games while scoring whenever he wanted in the other games. It is true to say that he has already performed the duties listed in the job description.

What Are Warning Message For The Remaining Premier League Teams

Manchester City has lost their opening game of the earlier campaign, and face a 1-0 loss at Tottenham in London. However, this season, they returned to the city and opened with a faultless victory at West Ham, which may have already made their opponents nervous about how to keep up with Pep Guardiola’s squad.

The title race’s outcome was unaffected by last season’s false start, with Manchester City finishing ahead of Liverpool on the final day. However, Guardiola’s team struggled to get going this season, winning only four of their first seven games. But if their smooth performance against West Ham is any indication of what’s to come, the pursuing pack will need to move quickly just to keep up.

The London Stadium showed no rust during the victory. Erling Haaland’s two goals gave the new player a head start and improved the performance of a team that had already scored a lot of goals. Both Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias played quite well.

There were times during the game when Manchester City had more than 75 percent of the ball, and this was against a West Ham team that came close to clinching a top-six finish the previous season. Metropolis had a difficult beginning, but they made it seem simple.

The Majority Of Them Does Not Have A Chance If They Can’t Destroy West Ham

While West Ham has spent over £100 million on new acquisitions so far this summer, keeping Declan Rice has proven to be their most crucial business decision—at least for the time being. The 23-year-old, who was chosen team captain when Mark Noble retired, had a strong campaign for the Hammers last time around.

They advanced to the Europa League semi-finals, and he once more served as a lynchpin for David Moyes’ squad against City. Rice is the epitome of an all-action midfielder, and despite the sweltering heat on the first weekend, he was still running relentlessly from box to box, making crucial interceptions and winning tackles.

Although Rice remains a West Ham player, there may still be time for a much bigger, wealthier club to sign the England international this month. Two clubs in particular — Chelsea and Manchester United — have long been admirers of Rice and both still need midfielders.

Rice has two years left on his contract, so West Ham may have to let him go next summer if he can’t reach an agreement on a new one. However, if a sizable offer comes in before the transfer deadline of August 31, both West Ham and Rice may be tempted to make the move. If Rice could demonstrate his effectiveness toward Metropolis, he would improve United or Chelsea right away.

The Top Performers Of The Premiere League

Best Player: Ilkay Gundogan

Ilkay Gundogan is a key member of Guardiola’s all-star team, and the German midfielder controlled the game at the London Stadium for the Spanish manager. Even though Haaland’s move in the first half resulted in a penalty from which Metropolis grabbed the lead, only a player as cunning as Gundogan could come up with a move to make the run pay off.

The Under Performer Of The League

Alphonse Areola of West Ham

A substitute goalie entering the game cold off the bench is not an easy task, but West Ham Goalkeeper Areola can at least blame his lack of preparation for his subpar performance. But the former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, who took over for the injured Lukasz Fabianski on minute 29, gave the opening goal to Manchester City just seven minutes later when he sprinted off his line and fouled Haaland with a careless dive, earning a penalty.

Faqs

Haaland Has Scored How Many Goals Throughout His Career?

The Norwegian scored an astounding 86 goals in just 89 appearances while playing in Germany, adding 23 assists to his total. However, he already has pressure on him to start performing well for Man City after missing a clear-cut opportunity against Liverpool in the Community Shield last weekend.

Haaland Has Played In How Many Games Throughout His Career?

Erling Haaland has participated in 67 games throughout his time in the Bundesliga. 44 of them he has won. He has competed in every game of his professional career with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

Erling Haaland Scored How Many Goals In The Previous Campaign?

Haaland still scored 22, but only after exceeding his own expectations by five goals. He joins a Manchester City squad that scored 99 goals last season and had an XG of 93.