Manchester City kicks off title defense with a dominant 2-0 victory over Chelsea

On August 18th, Erling Haaland made his 100th appearance for Manchester City and scored his 91st goal, helping the champions secure a 2-0 victory over Chelsea in their first match of the Premier League season.

The big Norwegian, fed by Bernardo Silva, forced his way between Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana and finished neatly past Robert Sanchez in the 18th minute.

Former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic made sure of victory for the visitors six minutes from time, racing through a disorganised Chelsea midfield and thumping the ball into Sanchez's net.

Chelsea, in their first Premier League outing under new manager Enzo Maresca, fashioned some hopeful attacking moves through Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and recent signing Pedro Neto but were largely outclassed by their more composed visitors.