Haaland

Manchester City cruised to victory as Erling Haaland registered a strange statistic on his home debut and Mark Travers did well to keep the score down.

Haaland snatched at his best chance of the game when Grealish teed him up, and was then replaced by Julian Alvarez for the final 15 minutes. Foden's shot on goal fizzed off the surface but Travers will be livid with himself for not keeping it out. Sure enough, the opener arrived on 18 minutes when Haaland turned provider and hooked a ball through for Ilkay Gundogan to rifle home from 15 yards out. 30 minutes in and Bournemouth were punished on a ruthless City counter-attack. Travers helped one low shot around his right-hand post before palming over a firm Riyad Mahrez. It was a solid start from the 23-year-old but it soon got better. Haaland had his arms out wide, imploring Foden to square the ball so he could slot home, but the England star backed himself.

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There was another moment which hinted at the player’s character when he gave the ball away, a quick Bournemouth counter-attack leading to a corner. With just a minute to play of the first period, an instinctive first-time chipped effort on the stretch was tipped over. Understandable really and not only given the striker’s near goal-a-game record but because the City boss has some of the best in the game at doing that already.

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Nevertheless, Haaland still managed to make an impact, setting up Gundogan for the opener after 18 minutes. That is just one more than the record, which belongs to Romelu Lukaku after his seven touches against Crystal Palace last season for Chelsea. On an afternoon where the top-tier new boys were always hoping for a miracle, they came up against an awe-inspired Kevin de Bruyne instead.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland completed two passes in his side's 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

He told The Athletic: "The most difficult job in the world is when you're a striker vs a [defence] with three CMs, three CBs and you're in the middle. We'll find many of these but it's a question of time. Haaland helped set up Ilkay Gundogan for the opening goal 19 minutes in and after that, his only completed pass was to start the second half.

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has claimed that striker, Erling Haaland is already one of the world's greatest strikers for his age. Guardiola.

When this happens, he has the skills to be one of the best of best top scorers of all time.” I will encourage him to be a better player, a better finisher and [he has to] think today I will be better than yesterday, try to train today better than yesterday. Tomorrow will be a new challenge and he’s aged 21, 22 with a long career ahead of him, and he has the desire to be better, he will continue to improve.

Pep Guardiola has suggested that new signing Erling Haaland is on his way to being named "one of the best top scorers of all time".

He has a desire to be better so he will continue as normal. Guardiola was full of praise for his striker saying: "He is a top striker. "But he is still a young age.