Erling Haaland failed to score on his home debut for Manchester City, but it would ultimately not matter to Pep Guardiola’s side who were able to sweep Bournemouth aside with ease. City had been dominating the game since the start, and it did not take long for more goals to follow. Bournemouth spent most of their time defending in a compact 5-4-1 formation, and only forced Ederson into action once, through a Ben Pearson snap-shot from the edge of the area. They never looked remotely capable of staging a comeback in the second half, which had turned into a stroll in the Manchester sunshine for the home side long before Jefferson Lerma’s own goal made it 4-0. It seems surprising that City can register four goals and yet, Haaland would not score one, and this serves as a reminder of the goal threat the team possesses as a whole, and do not need to rely on the new striker.

Source: Punch August 13, 2022 19:51 UTC