Sports
Haaland Bags Brace As Man City Begin Title Defence In Style
man-city-burnley Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (R) speaks to his players during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on August 11, 2023. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP) /
Erling Haaland started the Premier League season with a bang as the Norwegian struck twice in defending champions Manchester City’s 3-0 win at promoted Burnley.
Rodri completed the scoring after Haaland’s first-half double to give City a perfect start to their quest to become the first side to win four consecutive English top-flight titles.
Haaland fired City to a treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup glory last season by scoring 52 times in his first year at the club.
The 23-year-old took just over three minutes of the new campaign to open his tally once more when he swept home Rodri’s header across goal.
Haaland then crashed in a shot off the underside of the bar nine minutes before half-time as his finishing papered over the cracks of a far from perfect first 45 minutes from the visitors.
But the ease with which Pep Guardiola’s men cruised to victory after the break was an ominous sign for the chasing pack aiming to dethrone City.
Rodri completed the scoring when the Spaniard smashed home a loose ball from a free-kick 15 minutes from time.
City’s night, though, was soured by an injury to captain Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian had only recently returned from a hamstring tear he suffered in the Champions League final and limped off midway through the first-half.
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has a statue outside City’s Etihad Stadium in honour of his decorated playing career with the English champions.
Kompany returned the Clarets back to the Premier League at the first time of asking and transformed Burnley’s playing style in the process during his first season in charge.
Despite the scoreline, the home side were far from outclassed but paid for a slow start and the lack of a clinical finisher like Haaland.
Burnley’s 2022/23 season finished over a month before City’s European Cup final win in Istanbul.
Guardiola has bemoaned his side’s short pre-season compared to their rivals, but they were quick out of the blocks.
A well-worked corner between De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden eventually picked out Rodri and his header was fired home by Haaland.
Moments later Burnley were denied a penalty when Manuel Akanji’s hold of Zeki Amdouni’s arm was not deemed enough for a spot-kick.
Luca Koleosho then fired over and Amdouni shot too close to Ederson as Burnley posed a bigger threat for large spells of the first-half.
However, they were hit with a sucker punch when Julian Alvarez laid off Kyle Walker’s cross into the path of Haaland to produce an unstoppable effort high past Burnley debutant goalkeeper James Trafford.
With the wind taken from Burnley’s sails, City took a stranglehold of the game after the break without ever having to hit top gear.
Rodri was the unlikely hero with the only goal in Istanbul two months ago and he started the new season as he finished the last by smashing home from close range after a goalmouth scramble.
Burnley’s miserable night was rounded off in stoppage time when Anass Zaroury was shown a straight red card for a wild challenge on Kyle Walker.
AFP
Manuel Neuer has been called up to Germany’s World Cup squad – two years after his international retirement.
The 40-year-old was named as part of Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for the tournament this summer, having not featured for his country since Euro 2024.
Among the list include Premier League players Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade – both of Newcastle – Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz and Brighton’s Pascal Gross.
Injured duo Serge Gnabry and Anton Stach and forwards Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade and Niclas Fullkrug are among those to miss out.
Germany’s World Cup squad in full
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Pascal Gross (Brighton), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has opened up on the club’s decision to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new manager.
The Blues confirmed the Spaniard as their next head coach following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with Alonso set to take charge ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Mikel had previously been vocal about Chelsea’s managerial philosophy, urging the club’s ownership to move away from short-term head coaches and interim appointments and instead bring in a proper manager with full control over the squad
Speaking on his most recent podcast, Mikel said:
“I am glad the owners listened to me, and listened to the fans.
“Forget about coaches, what we have always had are managers, and what we need is a manager who decides on the players he wants out and the players who can stay.
“We need a strong personality, and that is what we have got now in Alonso.
“That title has been changed from coach to manager, but I hope it’s not just words and he is actually allowed to manage the squad. But I am very happy with the appointment.”
Chelsea are still in the hunt for Europa League football, and a win over Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season would go a long way in determining whether Alonso inherits a European stage to build on next season.
Enzo Maresca is believed to have signed a three-year deal to replace outgoing Man City manager Pep Guardiola, after it was revealed that the legendary head coach will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season.
Speculation around Guardiola’s departure date has been rife as the season draws to a close, despite the Catalan having one year left on his contract.
According to report, Man City’s sponsors were among those to have been told that Guardiola will be calling time on a remarkable trophy-ladened spell on Sunday.
The report also shared that Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant, was a front-runner for the vacant spot at the dugout, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on Tuesday morning that the ex-Chelsea manager will be taking over.
The Italian head coach has been out of work since his mutual departure from Stamford Bridge under strained circumstances on January 1.
But even before his acrimonious mid-season exit, Maresca has been viewed as a long-term successor to Guardiola following their stint working together at Man City.
The 46-year-old served as Guardiola’s assistant between 2022 and 2023 after previously coaching Man City’s youth sides, before departing to earn Championship promotion with Leicester.
Maresca then went on to win the Uefa Conference League and the Club World Cup with Chelsea during his 18-month spell in west London.
Guardiola is set to celebrate his time in English football with an open-top bus parade in Manchester after winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, but until Monday night, the manager had been notably vague over his future plans.
But before news broke of his shock exit, Guardiola had been keen to tamp down any suggestions that he would be commemorated with any fanfare.
‘The club don’t have to do anything, honestly,’ Guardiola, who has yet to officially confirm his departure, said. ‘The important thing in our lives is that when you look back, you can look with a big smile and say “that was good”.
‘Bernardo (Silva) and John (Stones) can feel that. We spoke about it over the last few days. When you’re old, a grandfather, you can look at the memories. That is the most important thing in life.’
Tired of addressing his contractual situation, Guardiola added with a dose of sarcasm: ‘Whatever happens at the end of the season – and when I extend my contract for three more years – I can look back and say, “how nice has that been?”
‘That is the most important thing by far. Most of the people who lived this time here together can feel it.’
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