Wayne Lumbasi
In the sweltering heat of East London, Erling Haaland lived up to the hype following his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to give the champions a perfect start to the season.
Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City defeated West Ham 2-0 at the London Stadium. Although Haaland scored a hat-trick in his Champions League debut for Red Bull Salzburg and another treble in his Bundesliga debut for Dortmund, this debut may not have been as exciting as some of his previous ones.
In City’s Community Shield loss to Liverpool, 3-1, Haaland had missed opportunities, but Guardiola’s prediction that the goals would soon come proved to be accurate. The pre-season signing from Borussia Dortmund scored his first goal in just 36 minutes, converting a penalty after being fouled by Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
He got his second 19 minutes into the second half. Although West Ham had a stronger offensive intent to begin the second half, City’s new weapon took advantage of it as Kevin De Bruyne broke open their defense with one pass on the counterattack, allowing Haaland to gallop clear on goal and slot low past Areola.
Haaland chose to move to City, where his father Alfie played between 2000 and 2003, after scoring 86 goals in 89 games during his three seasons at Borussia Dortmund to establish himself as one of the most sought-after players in Europe.
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