Man City open title defence with victory over Chelsea

Erling Haaland scored on his 100th Manchester City appearance as the Premier League champions began their title defence with a win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Haaland opened the scoring on 18 minutes with a dinked finish over Robert Sanchez for his 91st City goal since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

Former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic made the game safe late on with a curling shot from just outside the penalty area.

A low-key match only fleetingly burst into life, with Kevin de Bruyne curling just wide from the edge of the box shortly after Haaland's opener, before Sanchez made a fine save from Jeremy Doku’s deflected drive.

Nicolas Jackson thought he had equalised after City goalkeeper Ederson fumbled Cole Palmer’s shot into his path, but the forward had just strayed offside.

Senegal striker Jackson fired a first-time volley straight at Ederson as Chelsea pushed for an equaliser after the break.

City also went close through Haaland, while Rico Lewis had a goal disallowed, before Kovacic sealed the points.

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