Manchester City have set a new Premier League scoring record after beating Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in their opening game of the 2024-25 season on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola's side entered the contest without the presence of key midfielder Rodri and injured winger Oscar Bobb, while England trio Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones were all not deemed ready to start and began as substitutes having only recently returned to training.
Nevertheless, the reigning Premier League champions showed their class in the capital and kick-started the defence of their title in positive fashion, courtesy of goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic.
Haaland required just 18 minutes to mark his 100th appearance for Man City with a customary goal, initially bulldozing his way past Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella inside the penalty area before delicately dinking the ball over Robert Sanchez to open the scoring.
Former Chelsea midfielder Kovacic then wrapped up the three points for the Citizens six minutes from time when he drove forward and curled a right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area in at the near post.
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Normal service resumes for record-breakers Man City
Man City have extended their impressive unbeaten run against Chelsea to 10 matches across all competitions, a run that includes eight victories and two draws.
Guardiola and co have also become the first team in Premier League history to win 10 consecutive games by two or more goals, according to Squawka.
Indeed, since City drew 0-0 with Arsenal in April, they have scored a total of 35 goals across 10 victories, keeping five clean sheets in the process.
In addition, the Citizens have now put together a total of seven 10-game winning streaks in the Premier League, at least two more than any other side in the division's history.
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Guardiola: 'Man City must act like champions'
Guardiola was full of praise for his side's performance after the match and has revealed that he told his players prior to kickoff against Chelsea that they must act like champions if they want to retain their crown.
"If you are the best team in England for 38 games, you are going to defend the crown," Guardiola told reporters. "We have to behave like we were, a champion team. Especially in the bad moments, I like to see that.
"I said we would have to suffer, this defines the best teams. In the bad moments, we were composed and we did it."
Guardiola has also heaped praise on star striker Haaland, comparing the Norwegian to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo after he netted his 91st Man City goal on his 100th appearance for the club.
Man City will now shift their focus to their first home league fixture of the 2024-25 season at the Etihad Stadium against newly-promoted Ipswich Town next Saturday.
Oliver Thomas
