Kevin de Bruyne injury sours winning Premier League start for Man City
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne limped off midway through the first-half at Burnley.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LONDON – Manchester City could be without their playmaker Kevin de Bruyne for a number of weeks after he suffered the recurrence of a hamstring injury, as the defending champions opened the English Premier League season with a 3-0 win at Burnley on Friday.
Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals in total in his debut season in English football last campaign, scored twice in just 36 minutes.
Rodri then completed the scoring to give City a perfect start to their quest to become the first side to win four consecutive English top-flight titles.
But the night was soured for Pep Guardiola’s men by the sight of de Bruyne limping off midway through the first half.
The Belgian had suffered a hamstring tear in City’s Champions League final victory over Inter Milan on June 10.
“He was injured again unfortunately,” said Guardiola. “Same place and position as the Champions League and he will be out for a while.
“It depends on the magnitude but will be a few weeks out. He has to free (his) mind and relax because he came back from that position (previous injuries) and he will be back now.”
Burnley’s 2022-23 season finished over a month before City’s European Cup final win in Istanbul.
Guardiola has bemoaned his side’s short pre-season compared to their rivals, but they were quick out of the blocks, with Haaland scoring in the fourth minute.
“We are still not in our best (physical) form but we have to try to not drop many points in that period,” added the City boss. “It’s a question of mentality and we were fortunate to break the game early.
“A lot of teams are going to suffer here, so that is why I am so pleased.”
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has a statue outside City’s Etihad Stadium in honour of his decorated playing career with the English champions.
He returned the Clarets back to the Premier League
Despite the scoreline, the hosts were far from outclassed but paid for the lack of a clinical finisher like Haaland.
Luca Koleosho and Zeki Amdouni missed good chances to equalise, while Amdouni also had a penalty appeal turned down.
“There were a lot of periods of the game where we did ourselves proud,” said Kompany.
“You want to get a result, that is a given, but there are other things which create a foundation for the season – tackling, pressing, running at defenders one-on-one.
“The crowd has always been behind us. We had enough today to get something.
“I am not saying a result, but to get on the score sheet.”
Burnley’s miserable night, despite the positives, was rounded off in stoppage time when Anass Zaroury was shown a straight red card for a wild challenge on Kyle Walker. AFP
