It is going to become a familiar sight this season: Kevin De Bruyne picking the ball up in the middle of the pitch, lifting his head and playing a defence-shredding pass through for Erling Haaland to race away from his markers and slot a clinical finish past a despairing goalkeeper.
Who said that Pep Guardiola doesn’t know what to do with a striker? For Manchester City, the early evidence is that their new No 9 is not going to disrupt Guardiola’s passing machine. The champions outclassed a limp West Ham side from start to finish and eased their way to a sleepy 2-0 victory thanks to two from Haaland, who followed up a first-half penalty with the kind of goal that suggests he is already on the same wavelength as his new teammates.
