Burnley vs Man City: Haaland brace give a perfect 3-0 victory over Burnley

During Burnley vs Man City, Erling Haaland scored a brilliant brace with Rodrigo also on target as they began the defence of our Premier League title in fine style with a hugely impressive 3-0 win.

Just as 12 months ago at West Ham, Norwegian striker Haaland marked the start of the new season in emphatic fashion, despatching two wonderful first half strikes at Turf Moor to get Pep Guardiola's side pursuit of a fourth consecutive league title off to a convincing start.

It was also the perfect answer to those who had wondered how Haaland would follow on from last season's remarkable 52-goal debut season haul.

A close-range finish from Rodrigo 15 minutes from time then added further gloss to a thoroughly professional performance from Guardiola's side.

Vincent Kompany's Clarets proved dogged and determined opponents but City's class and composure – the hallmarks of last season's historic Treble campaign – were again evident from the off.

There was also a second half debut for new signing Josko Gvardiol as he received his introduction to the Premier League while the hosts were reduced to 10-men in injury time after a red card for Anass Zaroury.

Burnley vs Man City: Match Preview

There was an eager air of expectation at Turf Moor as the serious business of our Premier League title defence got back underway.

Just over two months after that magical night in Istanbul where City carved the Club's name into footballing immortality by clinching the Champions League and with it the Treble, the hunt for silverware got underway once again.

However, at a packed noisy Turf Moor with Burnley back in the big time under the stewardship of Vincent Kompany it promised to be a tough and demanding encounter.

But it took less than four minutes for the champions to illustrate our quality through that man Haaland as he began the task of seeking to follow up last season's astonishing 52 goal haul in emphatic fashion.

The opener all came about from a Kevin De Bruyne corner, the ball was worked back to the skipper who whipped in an arcing cross from the right flank to the back post.

It was met by Rodrigo who powered a fine header back into the box and last season's top scorer Haaland, who else, was there to instantly fire home a crisp eight-yard finish to give City the perfect start.

Another sweeping move then saw De Bruyne find Haaland again lurking at the back post only for the strength of the delivery deny him proper purchase on his strike.

The Clarets though gave City a moment of concern as Burnley put together a decent passage of play to illustrate their own quality before winger Luca Koleosho fired a 20 yard over the bar.

At the other end, former City Academy graduate and new Burnley keeper James Trafford illustrated his quality with an excellent save to deny Rodrigo's close-range header.

There was a blow for City midway through the first half when De Bruyne, who had looked in imperious form, was forced off the field through injury, the Belgian being replaced by Mateo Kovacic with Kyle Walker being handed the captain's armband.

After Rodrigo had produced a timely challenge to nick the ball off the advancing Zeki Amdouni, Lyle Foster then got the home fans up off their seats, the South African sprinting past two challenges on the left flank before cutting inside and curling a dangerous shot just the wrong side of Ederson's far post.

City though responded in thrilling fashion on 37 minutes as Haaland once again illustrated why he is the pre-eminent striker operating in the game.

A patient City build-up clicked into gear as Foden fed the advancing Kyle Walker on a right-wing overlap.

The England full back drilled the ball into the path of Julian Alvarez in the heart of the Burnley box and the Argentine in turn fed the waiting Haaland.

The Norwegian turned inside before instinctively curling home a stunning left footed effort from 12 yards that went in off the underside of the bar leaving Trafford helpless.

It was another sublime demonstration of the finishing prowess that marks the 23-year-old apart.

Second Half:

City's dominance continued after the break with Trafford twice denying Rodrigo within the opening 10 minutes of the restart of Burnley vs Man City.

But the Spaniard was not to be denied and with 15 minutes left he extended our advantage, firing home from close range after a scramble in the Burnley box from Phil Foden's free-kick.

Summer signing Josko Gvardiol was then ushered on for his City debut as he was given a brief initial taste of the Premier League.

And a tough night for Burnley was compounded deep in injury time when Anass Zaroury was shown a straight card by referee Craig Pawson after a VAR check for a poor challenge on Kyle Walker. 

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