City boss Guardiola didn’t expect win over Chelsea

Goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic inflicted defeat on Enzo Maresca in his first match in charge of the Blues

Pep Guardiola praised Manchester City’s attitude to defy a disrupted pre-season and get their Premier League title defence off to a winning start by beating Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday. Goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic inflicted defeat on Enzo Maresca in his first match in charge of the Blues.

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City were shorn of all four of their Euro 2024 finalists—Rodri, Kyle Waker, John Stones and Phil Foden—from the start as Guardiola opted to give them extra time off to recover from their summer exertions.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji did play the 90 minutes despite their late return to training after reaching the knockout stages of the Euros. “I really didn’t expect it. I know what these guys can do, but the first day and lack of training,” said Guardiola.

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