Erling Haaland steals the headlines on Premier League’s opening weekend

On the evidence of this first outing, there will be plenty more to come from Man City’s newest star, writes Ben Burrows

The 22-year-old brought with him a fearsome reputation (Getty)

It didn’t take long for Erling Haaland to make his mark on the Premier League.

The 22-year-old brought with him a fearsome reputation when he joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund earlier this summer.

A ruthless finisher in front of a goal, the Norwegian has been bought to add the final killer instinct to a team that has already been crowned Premier League champions four out of the last five years.

Boasting a remarkable scoring record from his time in Germany, and in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg before that, much is expected of Haaland despite his tender years.

His first taste of English football was inauspicious with a number of missed chances in the Community Shield a week ago proving costly as rivals Liverpool lifted the year’s first trophy.

But any idea that Haaland would need time to settle was comprehensively blown away on the opening weekend of the Premier League season with an expert demonstration of his goalscoring prowess against West Ham on Sunday.

His first goal came from the penalty spot after just 36 minutes after he was felled by keeper Alphonse Areola in the box before slotting into the corner with precision.

His second after half-time will have sent shivers throughout the league as he latched on to an inch-perfect through ball from Kevin de Bruyne before emphatically sweeping home first time.

It could’ve been a hat-trick if he had directed a later header more accurately, before Pep Guardiola withdrew him to a healthy ovation before the end with the game long won.

It was the headline act from an opening weekend of England’s top flight which delivered plenty. Arsenal started as they mean to go on with a well-earned win over Crystal Palace on Friday night before Liverpool were surprisingly held by newly promoted Fulham on Saturday lunchtime.

There were wins for Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Chelsea before Brighton produced the shock of the weekend with a more than deserved 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. That it maybe wasn’t a shock at all tells you all you need to know about the current state of the Red Devils.

But it was Haaland who stole the show. On the evidence of this first outing, there will be plenty more to come from Man City’s newest star.

Yours,

Ben Burrows

Sports editor