Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic ease Manchester City to victory at Chelsea
This was Diet Pep proving no match for the full-fat version. Master met apprentice at Stamford Bridge and the result was predictable as Manchester City began their title defence by sweeping Chelsea aside thanks to slick goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic.
There were flickers from Chelsea, who are at the start of another rebuild under Enzo Maresca, and they will improve once Cole Palmer’s sharpness returns. For all their spending, though, they could not match City’s class or experience. Pep Guardiola dealt easily with his former assistant.
