Manchester City win their Premier League 2023-24 opener: Key stats
Treble winners Manchester City started the Premier League 2023-24 season with a bang, beating promoted Burnley 3-0. Erling Haaland was at his best, scoring a brace in the first half. Rodri, who helped City win their maiden Champions League crown last season, scored the third in the 75th minute. City have started their quest for a fourth successive league title in style.
Three-star City humble Burnley
Haaland had a dream start by scoring early on. Kevin De Bruyne, who was forced off with an injury, lofted a ball in for Rodri, who nodded it to Haaland. Haaland then scored a beautiful goal with an assist from Julian Alvarez. Rodri smashed in the third after Burnley failed to clear the lines. In the 94th minute, Anass Zaroury was sent off.
Match stats - Burnley vs City
City recorded 17 attempts with eight shots on target. Burnley clocked one shot on target from six attempts. City had 66% ball possession and managed 696 passes with an accuracy of 89%. Burnley earned six corners but failed to do justice.
Haaland joins Drogba in this unique club
Haaland, who won the Premier League Golden Boot award, raced to 38 goals. As per Opta, Haaland is only the second player to score 2+ goals in a team's opening game of a Premier League season in consecutive campaigns (also two vs West Ham in 2022-23), along with Didier Drogba in 2009-10 (two vs Hull) and 2010-11 (three vs West Brom) for Chelsea.
100 league goals for Haaland (top five leagues)
Haaland has scored 100 goals in Europe's top-five leagues (Premier League and Bundesliga). Haaland netted 62 goals for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and 38 for City in the PL. He has now scored against 35 of the 40 teams faced in these two leagues.
Key records for City and Haaland
As per Opta, City have won 12 successive games versus Burnley across competitions, with a 43-1 scoreline. Haaland now has five goals in two games versus Burnley. He scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup last season. Haaland has now scored a brace in each of his last four campaigns on matchday 1 (Bundesliga and Premier League).
