Getty/GOALPep Guardiola's side barely needed to get out of second gear at Stamford Bridge as they ran out easy winners on the opening weekend of the season
Manchester City got the defence of their Premier League title off to the perfect start as Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic ensured that a number of key players weren't missed by scoring the goals in Sunday's 2-0 win over Chelsea.
With Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones all missing from the starting line up after their late returns for pre-season, City were not always at their fluent best, but got themselves in front inside 20 minutes as Haaland powered his way through two defenders before chipping the onrushing Robert Sanchez.
The Chelsea goalkeeper then saved from both Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva as City pushed for a second before the break, while Nicolas Jackson had a goal ruled out for offside at the other end after Ederson spilled Cole Palmer's weak effort.
City maintained control for much of the game, as Haaland stung the palms of Sanchez while Rico Lewis had a goal disallowed shortly after denying Pedro Neto a debut goal at the other end with a fine clearance inside the six-yard box. In the end, it was left to Kovacic to seal victory as he capped a fine performance against his former club with a strike from 20 yards after latching onto a loose ball in midfield.
GOAL rates City's players from Stamford Bridge…
