Manchester City signaled their intent to take back the English Premier League title as Erling Haaland struck twice in a 4-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday to begin their campaign.
After four consecutive titles, City finished a distant third last season as Pep Guardiola’s men failed to win any trophy for the first time in eight years.
New signings Tijjani Reijnders, who was the star of the show at Molineux, and Rayan Cherki were also on target to give Guardiola hope his side would be back in the title race this season.
Photo: AFP
“We knew he is a top signing for the coming years for City,” Guardiola said on Reijnders’ outstanding Premier League debut.
“Of course, we have changed after last season with many injuries and problems — fresh energy this season,” he said. “It’s quite similar to when I first arrived. We had a lot of players who came when I first arrived... They were outstanding, and now the club has to refresh for the next years and be consistent.”
Guardiola made a bold call amid ongoing uncertainty over City’s goalkeeping situation.
James Trafford made his first senior appearance for the club after returning for a second spell at the Etihad from Burnley.
Ederson was not in the traveling squad, as he is reportedly close to a move to Galatasaray, which could see City pursue a deal for out-of-favor Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Wolves are among the favorites to be relegated after losing talisman Matheus Cunha to Manchester United.
Vitor Pereira’s side were ultimately well beaten, but the outcome could have been very different had they made the most of an uncertain City start.
“This league is a very difficult league, and we need more solutions,” Pereira said in a plea for more recruits. “We need help, so I hope the club can help us.”
Instead, the game swung decisively in City’s favor with two goals in three minutes, thanks to Reijnders creativity and goal threat from midfield.
The Dutch international jinked through the Wolves midfield before dinking a pass into Rico Lewis, who squared for Haaland to tap in at the back post.
Moments later Oscar Bobb released Reijnders to arrow in a precise finish on his left foot.
“Really nice to start with a goal an assist,” Reijnders said. “It’s something you always dream about starting like this.”
“Our main goal is to win the Premier League. We all know what we want, and we are really sharp to reach that goal,” he said.
Trafford did not have many saves to make, but showed his ability with his feet to begin a flowing move for City’s third.
The England goalkeeper cushioned a long pass into Reijnders, who played a one-two with Bobb, before cutting the ball back for a clinical Haaland finish.
Haaland was denied the chance to net a hat-trick as he was replaced by Cherki 17 minutes from time.
The French international took just another eight minutes to make his mark by picking out the bottom corner from outside the box.
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the final in his past six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
RSS