Manchester Metropolis could possibly be with out Kevin De Bruyne for a variety of weeks after he suffered the recurrence of a hamstring harm because the defending champions opened the Premier League season with a 3-0 win at Burnley on Friday. Erling Haaland scored twice earlier than Rodri accomplished the scoring to offer Metropolis an ideal begin to their quest to change into the primary facet to win 4 consecutive English top-flight titles.

However the evening was soured for Pep Guardiola’s males by the sight of De Bruyne limping off halfway by the first-half.

The Belgian had suffered a hamstring tear in Metropolis’s Champions League closing victory over Inter Milan two months in the past.

“He was injured once more sadly,” stated Guardiola. “Similar place and place because the Champions League and he will probably be out for some time.

“It is determined by the magnitude however will probably be just a few weeks out. He has to free (his) thoughts and loosen up as a result of he got here again from that place (earlier accidents) and he will probably be again now.”

Burnley’s 2022/23 season completed over a month earlier than Metropolis’s European Cup closing win in Istanbul. Guardiola has bemoaned his facet’s brief pre-season in comparison with their rivals, however they had been fast out of the blocks.

“We’re nonetheless not in our greatest (bodily) kind however now we have to attempt to not drop many factors in that interval,” added Guardiola. “It is a query of mentality and we had been lucky to interrupt the sport early.

“A number of groups are going to undergo right here, so that’s the reason I’m so happy.”

Haaland fired Metropolis to the treble final season by scoring 52 instances in his first 12 months on the membership. The 23-year-old took simply over three minutes of the brand new marketing campaign to open his tally as soon as extra when he swept house Rodri’s header throughout objective after a well-worked nook between De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has a statue outdoors Metropolis’s Etihad Stadium in honour of his adorned enjoying profession with the English champions.

Kompany returned the Clarets again to the Premier League on the first time of asking and remodeled Burnley’s enjoying fashion within the course of throughout his first season in cost. Regardless of the scoreline, the house facet had been removed from outclassed however paid for the shortage of a medical finisher like Haaland.

Luca Koleosho and Zeki Amdouni missed good probabilities to equalise, whereas Amdouni additionally had a penalty attraction turned down. “There have been a variety of durations of the sport the place we did ourselves proud,” stated Kompany.

Nonetheless, they had been hit with a sucker punch when Julian Alvarez laid off Kyle Walker‘s cross into the trail of Haaland to supply an unstoppable effort in off the underside of the bar 9 minutes earlier than half-time.

With the wind taken from Burnley’s sails, Metropolis took a stranglehold of the sport after the break with out ever having to hit prime gear. Rodri was the unlikely hero with the one objective in Istanbul two months in the past and he began the brand new season as he completed the final by smashing house from shut vary after a goalmouth scramble.

Burnley’s depressing evening was rounded off in stoppage time when Anass Zaroury was proven a straight pink card for a wild problem on Walker.