Chelsea 0 Man City 2 LIVE RESULT: Haaland and Kovacic goals seal opening day win for Champions against struggling Blues

Match report

One team is facing a record 115 charges of dodgy dealing.

The other had its captain join his team-mates taking the knee just weeks after apologising for making racist remarks.

And a senior player kicking off an hour before the game demanding to know what the heck is going on with his future at the club having been ditched from the matchday squad.

The Premier League is well and truly back.

And anybody naive enough to think now would be the time to let the football do the talking should be in no doubt that 22 blokes chasing after a ball is a sideline these days.

Where there’s money there’s madness and memories of a summer watching international football, the closest thing left to watching the game at its purest, are fading fast.

Chelsea 0 Man City 2

Maresca kicks off Blues reign in defeat as champions cruise to victory

Next up

Manchester City are back home next week as they welcome Premier League new boys Ipswich Town to the Etihad.

Chelsea are home as well in their next game, as they welcome Servette to Stamford Bridge in the Conference League play off round on Thursday, to get into Europe's third tier competition.

More form Maresca

More from the Chelsea manager now, who says his side came up against 'the masters' but was pleased with how they competed.

He told Sky Sports: "I think we competed very well for much of the game. We were similar if not better. The performance was there but we didn't take the chances.

"Probably the big difference was inside the box. I'm quite happy in terms of performance.

"For me, the important thing is to create chances. We didn't score but we created chances. The first goal for them was almost offside, we almost scored. these things change results but the performance was good overall. It was quite clear, you can see a team trying to keep the ball and dominate.

"We were against the champions today. We will continue and win games. They are a master in this kind of moment. We had two or three chances. They are a master of keeping hold of the ball. The performance was there and that is the main thing. You can see how they manage the ball."

Rumble on

This Raheem Sterling saga will likely roll on this week.

In case you missed it, he was axed from the club's squad for the game today.

Now he and his representatives are 'seeking assurances' on his involvement in the first team squad.

BURNT BRIDGES?

Sterling's Chelsea future in doubt with ace 'seeking clarity' after axe

Lavia reacts

Chelsea midfield Romeo Lavia called on his side to take the positives from the game and reckons they did enough to win today.

He told Sky Sports: "I think there were a lot of positives to take from the game. We were expecting goals today and we had a lot of chances. We need to take the positives and move on.

"We felt like we had the chance to come out on top and that didn't happen. It's a very good team so we have to take the good things and move on to the next game. You can find a lot of reasons why they won today. Just focus on the next one.

"There are 38 games in the season. There's something growing and you can see that on the pitch. The result didn't go our way today but the way we played is where we want to be."

Chelsea player ratings

ATTACKERS

Christopher Nkunku – 4: Enzo Maresca seemed to want him playing as a touchline winger, but the forward looks far more comfortable in the middle of the pitch. Was the first player to be hooked in the second half, and was replaced by Pedro Neto who looked more comfortable wide on the left-hand side.

Cole Palmer – 5: It was far from the electric performance which saw him scoop heaps of praise last season. Still did show glimpses going forwards, but just failed to impact the game in the ways in which he did last time round.  

Nicolas Jackson – 4: New season, same old Nicolas Jackson. A great run in the first half was let down by a pea-roller of a shot into a Man City defender, before he hit the back of the net only to see the official's flag raised on the far side. "I'm sorry Nic Jackson" but it's a four for you this time round...

Chelsea player ratings

MIDFIELDERS

Romeo Lavia – 6: Looked a calming presence in the Chelsea midfield when he did get the ball, and broke up play pretty well for a player who has been out through injury for so long. Continued his good pre-season form and is deserving of a run of starts in the side. 

Moises Caicedo – 5: A similar performance really to the aforementioned Lavia, but was one of Chelsea's better progressors of the ball when they did get forwards and showed some nice touches in the middle of the park. Fans will be left wondering whether he, Lavia and Enzo Fernandez fit into the same midfield.

Enzo Fernandez – 5: A mixed performance from the Argentine midfielder, showed promise in spells but it really wasn't the level you would expect of a player with his price tag. This could have been a huge game for the Chelsea captain, but he failed to really stamp his mark on it in comparison to the player whom he replaced, Mateo Kovacic.

Chelsea player ratings

Find out how SunSport’s Lloyd Canfield rated the Chelsea players...

DEFENDERS

Robert Sanchez – 4/10: Distribution wise not good enough, that said he made an absolutely fantastic save to deny a deflected effort from Jeremy Doku in the first half. Similarly in the second half, made a routine save to deny Erling Haaland before getting a hand to Mateo Kovacic's shot but failing to stop it rattling the back of the net.

Malo Gusto – 5: More of the impressive attitude we saw from last season from the flying Frenchman, but today couldn't stamp his mark on the game at all going forwards. We certainly see more of his best qualities in the games where Chelsea have more of the ball, he should grow into the season nicely over the next few games. 

Wesley Fofana – 5: Didn't look out of his depth in his first Premier League game for Chelsea for over a year, and despite conceding it was a decent performance to build on in the coming games. Did well physically against Erling Haaland in fairness, and made it through the 90 minutes unscathed which will please Chelsea fans in some capacity.

Levi Colwill – 5: Tough day at the office against physicality personified, Erling Haaland. Did play the ball well out of the back for Chelsea with a few good blocks and tackles, but much the same as Wesley Fofana there is room for growth into the season with easier fixtures upcoming, particularly where Chelsea will dominate on the ball.  

Marc Cucurella  – 6: Forced Jeremy Doku into a change of wing in the first half after winning a tough battle against the Belgian winger, and stepped into challenges well for the most part. Was solid again in the second half before going off with an injury. 

Pep speaks

Pep Guardiola insists he 'didn't expect' that good a performance from his side.

And he says it's 'an honour' to manage this group of players, insisting this is a 'big step' on the opening day.

He told Sky Sports: "I didn't expect it. We are away from our best so three points is the good news. The bad news is we have 65 games ahead of us.

"We have an advantage, it's our ninth season together so we know each other well. Of course there are mistakes you have to improve but we talked, the difference in being champions was our body language, how did we behave?

"It's the bad moments in the season and in the games that define the big teams. For me, it is an honour to be in charge of these guys. I'm so fortunate, I could not say more.

"There is a plan, defensive, offensive. But afterwards it's how we celebrate the good moments and come back from the bad moments.

"That's what defines these teams and no one talks about it. For a while we could never win at Stamford Bridge. This is a big step."

Touch map

Erling Haaland joked on Sky Sports that he didn't need to be involved much.

And his touch map shows that he didn't have many touches in the game at all.

Kovacic reacts

Mateo Kovacic said the club is 'so hungry' for success again this year and spoke about playing without Rodri in the midfield.

He told Sky Sports: "We are missing some big players but it's always tough when you miss big players.

"I had a longer break so I could recover better, I wanted to be ready for the beginning of the season.

"I play today some kind of his [Rodri's] role, but we are always missing Rodri because he is, if not the best player, one of the best in the world.

"I don't score many goals and when you score you want to celebrate. But I have a huge respect for Chelsea, I spent five years here.

"I scored but that is not always the most important thing for me, the most important is winning.

"This team is so hungry and it's a pleasure to be a part of it and win titles."

Missed in there

Conor Gallagher was a big miss in the Chelsea midfield today.

Especially after the showings of Caicedo and captain Fernandez.

In fact, some Chelsea fans were singing the name of Gallagher at owner Todd Boehly.

He had previously been banned from using the club's first-team facilities as Chelsea looked to force him into a move.

He is the latest victim of the club's policy to sell academy graduates.

BO & ARROWS

Chelsea fans chant Gallagher’s name in front of Boehly with ace frozen out

Not all that?

Despite getting off the mark today, maybe this WON'T be a huge season for Erling Haaland after all.

It's the first opening game of the season since 2019 that he hasn't scored at least two goals!

So it's actually a poor start for him. But I'm sure he'll manage just fine this season.

The moments that mattered

A goal from a few yards out from Haaland.

A strike from outside the box to clinch the points from Kovacic.

These are the two big moments.

Match stats

Chelsea actually enjoyed more of the ball than Manchester City in the end.

And more passes to go with that. Not many teams will hold that over Pep Guardiola's men.

But just three shots on target from that - including a late, ambitious strike from Enzo Fernandez - told the tale of this one.

FT: Chelsea 0-2 Man City

They couldn't have hoped for a better start to their title defence, Manchester City.

Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic on the scoresheet as City take the three points away from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea huffed and puffed but the gulf in class showed in the end.

And that was City without Walker, Stones and Rodri - scary stuff.

They'll take some beating this year once again. Reaction to come.