On the afternoon of this Friday, the defending champion Manchester City visited newly promoted Burnley for the first round of the English Championship – tournament debut in the 2023/24 season -, at the Turf Moor stadium, in Burnley (ING), and won 3-0. Top scorer Erling Haaland and Rodri scored the goals in the game.
Thus, the team coached by Pep Guardiola starts the new season the same way it ended the previous one: winning. In addition to adding the first three points in the competition, the club is recovering from the defeat to Arsenal in the FA Super Cup.
On the other hand, the team commanded by Vincent Kompany, City idol, suffers the first setback in his return to the Premier League. Burnley were champions of the English second division last season.
In the next round, therefore, Manchester City receives Newcastle, at 4 pm on Saturday (19), at the Etihad Stadium. In turn, Burnley would face Luton Town on the same day, but the confrontation was postponed.
Before returning to play for Nacional, however, Citizens will play against Sevilla, on Wednesday, starting at 4 pm, at the Karaiskákis Stadium, in Athens, Greece.
Manchester City’s goals against Burnley
League top scorer last season with 36 goals, Haaland needed just three minutes in 2023/24 to score again. De Bruyne launched for Rodri, who headed the Norwegian head inside the area, finishing with his left foot in the Trafford goalkeeper’s corner and opening the scoring.
At 35, the striker returned to fill the opponent’s net. After a move down the right, Walker activated Julián Álvarez, who arranged it for Haaland, almost with his back to the goal, to send it first and score a great goal. The ball still hit the crossbar before dying in the bottom of Burnley’s goal.
On the way back from the break, at 30 minutes, it was Rodri’s turn to score. After crossing and rebounding in the area, the ball was left for the Spanish midfielder to just push into the back of the goal and enshrine City’s victory.
Finally, already in the additions, at 48, Zaroury made a hard foul on Walker after a tackle from behind. The referee gave the yellow card, but after analyzing the move on VAR, he went back and expelled the Burnley striker, who was left with ten on the pitch in the last few minutes.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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