Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic lead Manchester City to victory over Chelsea | Premier League

This Diet Pep version cannot be compared to the full version. The master met the apprentice at Stamford Bridge and the result was predictable. Manchester City began the defence of their title by thrashing Chelsea thanks to elegant goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic.

There were flashes of ChelseaThey are at the start of another rebuild under Enzo Maresca, and will improve once Cole Palmer regains his sharpness. However, for all their spending, they could not match City's class or experience. Pep Guardiola made do with his former assistant easily.

If there is a good time to play City, it is probably when they are still recovering key players after a great tournament. There are some gaps in their line-up, particularly as Rodri has not yet recovered from the thigh injury that forced him off in the return leg. Euro 2024 finalalthough Chelsea did not initially look prepared to exploit any signs of a lack of pace. Maresca, who is trying to introduce a more methodical approach after replacing Mauricio Pochettino, would soon hear the home fans complaining about his side's clumsy preparation.

Change doesn't necessarily mean improvement. Chelsea seemed to be moving in the right direction under Pochettino. Just to separate The Argentine, who finished sixth last season, was seen to be uneasy in the stands. City's opening goal, scored by Bernardo Silva with a little touch and converted by Haaland in the 18th minute, was soon followed by defiant chants for the discarded Conor Gallagher, who is hoping to complete a move to Atletico Madrid.

There was a sense that Gallagher’s energy would have unsettled City and prevented Kovacic from pulling the strings at the base of midfield. Yet Chelsea are doing things their own way. As well as getting rid of Gallagher, Maresca has also banished Trevoh Chalobah and Armando Broja while they await transfers, decided that Djordje Petrovic does not fit his vision of a ball-playing goalkeeper, said Ben Chilwell should go before the transfer window closes and, by not even naming Raheem Sterling in the dugout here, made it clear that the former City winger’s days at Stamford Bridge are numbered too.

Sterling, his representatives said before kick-off, will seek “clarity over his future” in the coming days. Maresca, meanwhile, will simply carry out an investigation into the defending that allowed City to take control. There had already been some warning shots from the visitors, notably when Savinho’s pass opened Chelsea’s way and forced Wesley Fofana to turn away Silva’s shot, and it looked too easy when Jérémy Doku was able to dribble inside from the left flank.

The Belgian had too much time to move the ball inside and too much space in front of the Chelsea defence. One of the two, Moisés Caicedo or Roméo Lavia, had to be closer to Silva when the pass came to him. Instead, the Portuguese was able to unbalance Chelsea with a deft pass to Haaland, who got his feet in place before firing a precise shot over Robert Sánchez.

City, already in the game, could have lost the game by the break. Kevin De Bruyne, with his class and flair, shot just wide. Silva and Doku both had shots that Sanchez turned away. Savinho, who had a promising debut after joining from Troyes, produced some exciting dribbles down the right. As for the home side, there were some complaints after three misdirected passes from Enzo Fernandez, who was wearing the captain's armband weeks after his part in a storm of racism that briefly sparked a civil war in Maresca's dressing room.

It was telling that Chelsea played better when they played with more intensity and targeted City's high line. There were some dangerous dribbles down the left from Christopher Nkunku, though nothing that overly worried the excellent Rico Lewis, and a couple of penalties from Fernandez. Nicolas Jackson also had a goal ruled out for offside, much to Ederson's relief after latching on to Palmer's low shot.

As the break approached, Guardiola began to show signs of anxiety but responded by bringing on Phil Foden for Savinho and City started the second half well. Haaland almost got his second goal but Sanchez made another fine save.

Chelsea had to offer more in the final third of the pitch. Maresca turned to Pedro Neto (Nkunku, who had done little to show he was more worthy of a place than Sterling, left) and the pressure mounted. Lewis made a brilliant clearance to deny Neto his first goal and Jackson almost sent a loose ball to Ederson. City moved at the other end but Lewis had a goal disallowed for Haaland's foul on Levi Colwill.

Unable to secure a second goal, City retreated after the hour mark and relied on Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol to hold their ground in defence. The team sensed that Chelsea were short of ideas. Palmer, who had not had a great pre-season following his England performance, was not in top form.

In the end, Chelsea had Marc Guiu, an 18-year-old newcomer with seven top-flight appearances, who ran bravely into attack after replacing Jackson. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, a Maresca stalwart at Leicester, also came on and that was probably the moment you knew City were going to win. They had the knowledge of players who have seen it all and it was their second goalscorer who really put the finishing touches on the game.

It all ended when Kovacic, a player not considered worthy of a place in Chelsea's grand rebuild, took a poor clearance, got past Caicedo and Fernandez and fired past Sanchez, who should have done better.

Shortly afterwards, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly left his post. After spending more than £1bn on new players, Chelsea are still trying to make up for lost ground.