Manchester City began their 2024-25 Premier League title defence with a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The pre-match conversation was centered around new Chelsea coach, Enzo Maresca making his Premier League debut against his former boss, Pep Guardiola.
Maresca handed starts to Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia, who both endured an injury-ravaged campaign last season.
Rodri missed out for Manchester City, while Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva started and Phil Foden sat on the bench as he walks his way back into full fitness.
Last season’s top scorer, Erling Haaland took advantage of a defensive mix up from Chelsea to produce a cool finish.
He scored his 91st goal in 100th appearance for Manchester City in all competitions since joining from Dortmund in 2022.
Chelsea created a number of dangerous openings as the half went on, but the next goalscoring opportunity saw Sanchez produce a fine diving save to deny a long-range effort from Doku.
The hosts had a brief spell with possession, but they failed to take advantage of it as Man City went into the break with a deserved lead.
The Blues went agonisingly close again a minute later when Jackson acrobatically volleyed goalwards from close range, only for Ederson to produce a fine save to deny him.
Former Chelsea midfielder, Mateo Kovacic broke the heart of his former employers with a 25-yard curler to make it 2-0.
The Blues tried to find their way back with efforts from Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer, but Ederson was equal to the task as Manchester City held on to grab the maximum points.
Manchester City will return to action in the Premier League on Saturday with a home clash against Ipswich Town, while Chelsea will take on Servette in the Europa Conference League play-off clash on Thursday at Stamford Bridge.
Haaland Scores As Man City Defeat Chelsea At Stamford Bridge is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
