Manchester City got their Premier League title defence off to a winning start, with goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic inflicting a 2–0 defeat on Enzo Maresca in his first game as Chelsea manager. Haaland marked his 100th appearance for the club with his 91st goal, before Kovacic scored on his return to Stamford Bridge to give Pep Guardiola's men the perfect start to their bid to win a record fifth successive English top-flight title. City were robbed of all four of their Euro 2024 finalists from the outset – Rodri, Kyle Waker, John Stones and Phil Foden – as Guardiola opted to give them extra time to recover from their summer efforts.
Still, the champions managed to score a goal against one of the few teams they failed to beat in the league last season.
Maresca has the tough task of building a functioning team from a bloated Chelsea squad, which consists of 43 players, over 50 of whom are on contract, including those on loan.
The consequences of those difficult decisions were felt before kick-off, as Raheem Sterling's team released a statement expressing their displeasure at his omission from the matchday squad.
Ben Chilwell was another player picked, while Conor Gallagher and Romelu Lukaku were among those not given a squad number.
None of Chelsea's nine summer signings so far have featured in Maresca's starting line-up.
Even more surprising is that Enzo Fernandez was named captain despite being embroiled in a row over a social media post following Argentina's Copa America victory last month.
City, on the other hand, is a model of continuity and consistent excellence.
Haaland was one of the few City stars to go a summer without playing international tournaments and needed just 18 minutes to make his mark.
A low cross from Jeremy Doku was turned into the feet of the Norwegian by Bernardo Silva, who coolly fired the ball over Robert Sanchez.
Kevin De Bruyne curled the ball inches wide and Sanchez jumped high to stop Doku's blocked shot.
But Chelsea ended the first half in the lead and should have been level before half-time.
Ederson failed to intercept a shot from Cole Palmer, but Nicolas Jackson was unnecessarily offside and was able to turn in the rebound.
Foden was forced into action earlier than Guardiola had hoped at half-time after the energetic Savinho was forced off injured on his Premier League debut.
The fact that many participants played few minutes in preparation was evident from the slower pace than is normal for an important Premier League match.
Chelsea were the ones who mainly applied pressure for an equaliser, but also offered City chances to extend their lead.
Sanchez made a great save to deny Haaland a second chance, while De Bruyne again shot inches wide of the target when he was running free on the edge of the penalty area.
However, Chelsea's goalkeeper was responsible for the decisive goal.
Kovacic was able to break through midfield unhindered and aimed for the crossbar, which he hit home thanks to a weak hand from Sanchez.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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