ERLING Haaland picked up from where he left off last season with two goals in champions Manchester City’s English Premier League opening night 3-0 win at Burnley.
The Norway striker set a Premier League record last season with 36 goals in his first campaign, and he was ruthless tonight against the promoted Burnley at Turf Moor.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner finished off a City move in the fourth minute to open the scoring, sweeping home from Rodri’s header across goal.
He extended City’s lead with a brilliant first-time strike into the roof of the net from Julian Alvarez’s pass in the 36th minute as Pep Guardiola’s side went into the break with a comfortable advantage.
Burnley put together some sleek moves and troubled the City defence during a spell between the end of the first half and the start of the second, but the champions rarely looked like conceding.
Rodri rounded off the scoring with a searing shot from close range with 15 minutes to go as City eased to victory in their pursuit of an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title.
Burnley had Anass Zaroury sent off by the video assistant referee (VAR) in injury time for a lunge on Kyle Walker as the second-tier champions and their manager Vincent Kompany were given a taste of what to expect in the top flight.
The opening weekend continues tomorrow with Arsenal hosting Nottingham Forest in the first of six fixtures, while Chelsea welcome Liverpool on Sunday and Manchester United host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night.
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