Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland's brace in the 2-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday has already silenced the doubters who questioned his ability to fit City's style of play.
Haaland had faced some criticism for his underwhelming performance in the Community Shield defeat by Liverpool last weekend, where he touched the ball only six times.
But the £51 million recruit from Borussia Dortmund announced his arrival in the Premier League in style with a goal in each half, a penalty followed by a neat finish, to open his City account in the win at the London Stadium.
“One week ago he could not adapt to the Premier League. Now he’s alongside Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo,” smiled City boss Guardiola.
“He’s a guy with incredible talent, a scorer of goals. I’ve known him for a month. I know how he handled criticism this week and he was calm, he trained really well. We will see when he is complimented how he reacts.”
The Norway international, 22, won the penalty that led to City's opener, drawing a fail from Alphonse Areola minutes after the Frenchman came on as a substitute for the injured Lukasz Fabianski.
Haaland was adamant he would take the spot kick and expertly sent Areola the wrong way with a low spot-kick which clipped a post on its way in.
“The way he took the ball to take the penalty, I said, ‘oh, I like it’,” added Guardiola.
“I think if someone were to take this ball, he would have punched his teammates in the face. I’m pretty sure of that, and that is a good sign.
“You’ve got to be self-confident, ambitious and have a ruthless mentality. And of course, he scored it.”
West Ham v Man City ratings
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WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski - 6 The Polish shot-stopper got the nod ahead of Areola, but a collision with Erling Haaland saw him forced off with an injury on the half-hour mark. Did his job well enough and helped relieve pressure by claiming and punching crosses away. AFP -
Vladimir Coufal – 4 Struggled against Grealish for the most part. Was too exposed on occasion, however, this was not completely his fault with Zouma often having to cover for Johnson. AFP -
Kurt Zouma – 4 Jogging back for the second goal was not a good look for the Frenchman. Was caught ball-watching instead of tracking Haaland, which proved costly with the Norwegian netting his second. Reuters -
Ben Johnson – 3 Playing out of position against the champions is never going to be an easy task. The youngster struggled. Was caught out of position for the second goal, and showed his relative inexperience as a centre-back. EPA -
Aaron Cresswell – 4 Not the full-back’s greatest evening as he struggled throughout. Was a tough game for West Ham’s defence. PA -
Tomos Soucek – 3 Was not in the game at all. The visitors' midfield were able to bypass the 27-year-old with ease, as he offered no protection to his back-line. West Ham fans will be hoping that this is an anomaly. EPA -
Declan Rice – 5 Definitely on the losing side of the midfield battle, but did have his bright moments. Could have equalised for the Hammers early in the second-half, but fired over. Action Images -
Jarrod Bowen – 4 Like Soucek, struggled to get into the game, and on the rare occasion he could drive the hosts forward, he proved to be wasteful in possession. Less than half of the Englishman’s passes found a West Ham shirt, showcasing a poor evening for the winger. Getty -
Manuel Lanzini – 4 Tried to create, though found it difficult to choose the right option when presented with the ball. The midfield trio of Bowen, Lanzini and Fornals did struggle to create on the odd occasion they could get forward. Getty -
Pablo Fornals – 4 Chased everything despite being visibly tired. Did not challenge the City defence enough however, in what was a comfortable day for the visitors. Reuters -
Michail Antonio – 5 Really did try to create chances for himself but was very isolated. Ran his heart out, despite the lack of service. Was subbed after 56 minutes. AP -
SUBS: Alphonse Areola – 4 Came on for the injured Fabianski. Gave away a penalty just five minutes later with a rash dive on Haaland. Could not have done much with the second. Getty -
Said Benrahma – 3 Came on for Lanzini, but his crossing was poor throughout. Has been linked away with a move, and it may be for the best for all parties if a transfer materialises. PA -
Gianluca Scamacca – 7 Replaced Antonio. Looked bright and caused some problems for the City defence. There will be calls for the Italian to start next week against Nottingham Forest. Getty -
Flynn Downes – N/A Subbed on for Bowen. Like Coventry, did not have adequate time on the pitch to showcase his talent. Conor Coventry – N/A Replaced Fornals. Did not have time to influence the game. Getty -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson – 6 A comfortable clean sheet for the Brazilian, though there were a couple of uncharacteristic sloppy passes that infuriated his defence. Reuters -
Kyle Walker – 7 Like Ederson, had a few dodgy moments, but kept Benrahma quiet when he came on, and was his usual reliable self. PA -
Ruben Dias 8 Comfortable day at the office for Dias, who looked assured throughout Getty -
Nathan Ake – 7 Won his aerial duels and formed a solid partnership with Dias to help keep David Moyes’ side at bay. Getty -
Joao Cancelo – 5 Not Cancelo’s best showing, with the full-back sloppy in possession on a number of occasions – especially as the game went on. AFP -
Kevin De Bruyne – 9 A classy performance from the Belgian. Assisted the second goal with a beautiful defence-splitting pass to send Haaland through on goal. Constant headache for the hosts. Started slowly, but grew into the game. AFP -
Rodri – 7 Impressive as he helped the visitors dominate the midfield areas. Did not put a foot wrong. AFP -
Ilkay Gundogan – 8 His pass created the penalty after Haaland was felled. Settled into the game quickly and looked assured. AP -
Phil Foden – 7 Looked bright, but perhaps flattered to deceive on occasion. Did not have a clear-cut chance, but still buzzed around constantly. Getty -
Erling Haaland – 9: The Norweigian did not disappoint on his Premier League debut. Was fouled for the penalty, and finished the subsequent spot kick with aplomb. Looked rapid and a real handful, as he raced through on goal to slot home his second. Should have had a hat-trick, but could only head over from close range. EPA -
Jack Grealish – 6 Struggled to impose himself. Looked threatening on occasion, but did not do enough. Reuters -
SUBS: Bernardo Silva – 6 Replaced Gundogan with ten minutes left. Slotted in nicely and did not put a foot wrong. Getty -
Julian Alvarez – N/A Subbed on for Haaland. A few nice runs, but not enough time to influence the game. AFP -
Cole Palmer – N/A Replaced De Bruyne. Will be interesting to see how many minutes the talented youngster gets this season. AP -
Kalvin Phillips – N/A Came on for Rodri. A nice moment to get his first minutes as a City player in the Premier League. AFP -
Riyad Mahrez – N/A Subbed on for Phil Foden. City were cruising, and the Algerian did not have a lot to do. AFP
Haaland put the game to bed with 25 minutes remaining when he raced on to Kevin de Bruyne’s through-ball and slotted it past Areola.
The 22-year-old probably fancied another debut hat-trick, having managed that feat twice before, but Guardiola took him off with 15 minutes remaining, replaced by another new arrival, Julian Alvarez.
“I was fortunate as a manager to be with Lionel Messi and if he scored two, he wanted three, if he scored three he wanted four and if he got four he wanted five,” said Guardiola.
“The top goalscorers, the strikers, they are never satisfied. They are always hungry, starving, they always want more and more.
“But at the same time, I have to involve the new players and make sure everyone gets the minutes.”
The biggest summer transfers
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Perr Schuurs - Ajax to Torino (£8m). AFP -
Paco Alcacer - Villarreal to Sharjah (loan). Getty Images -
Matheus Nunes - Sporting to Wolves (£38m). AFP -
Tanguy Nianzou - Bayern Munich to Sevilla (£16.9m). AFP -
Alan Virginius - Sochaux to Lille (£3.8m). AFP -
Thilo Kehrer - PSG to West Ham (£10.1m). Getty Images -
Pervis Estupinan - Villarreal to Brighton (£15.1m). Getty Images -
Destiny Udogie - Udinese to Tottenham (£15.1m). Loaned back to Udinese. Reuters -
Sergio Gomez - Anderlecht to Manchester City (£11m). Photo: Manchester City -
Alex Collado - Barcelona to Elche (loan). AFP -
Remo Freuler - Atalanta to Nottingham Forest (£9m). AP -
Marc Bartra - Real Betis to Tranbzonspor (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Giovani Lo Celso - Tottenham to Villarreal (loan). Getty Images -
Cheikhou Kouyate - Crystal Palace to Nottingham Forest (free). Getty Images -
Emmanuel Dennis - Watford to Nottingham Forest (£20m). Getty Images -
Nico González - Barcelona to Valencia (loan). AP Photo -
Luca Pellegrini - Juventus to Eintracht Frankfurt (loan). AFP -
Daniel Wass - Atletico Madrid to Brondby (£1.7m). EPA -
Pablo Marí - Arsenal to Monza (loan). AP -
Dries Mertens - Napoli to Galatasaray (free). AFP -
Jordan Veretout - Roma to Marseille (£9.3m). Reuters -
Christian Benteke - Crystal Palace to DC United (undisclosed fee). AFP -
Maxwell Cornet - West Ham United to Burnley (£17.5m). PA -
Georginio Wijnaldum - PSG to Roma (loan). AFP -
Lucas Torreira - Arsenal to Galatasaray (£5m). AFP -
Marc Cucurella - Brighton to Chelsea (£55m). Getty Images -
Ademola Lookman - RB Leipzig to Atalanta (£12.6m). PA via AP -
Renato Sanches - Lille to Paris Saint-Germain (£12.6m). AFP -
Riqui Puig - Barcelona to LA Galaxy (free). AP Photo -
Alex Telles - Manchester United to Sevilla (loan). AFP -
Carney Chukwuemeka - Aston Villa to Chelsea (£20m). Reuters -
Kasper Schmeichel - Leicester City to Nice (£1m). AFP -
Mattia Viti - Empoli to Nice (£10.9m). AFP -
Gabriel Slonina - Chicago Fire to Chelsea (£8.3m). Reuters -
Bernd Leno - Arsenal to Fulham (£3m). AFP -
Charles De Ketelaere - Club Brugge to AC Milan (£26.8m). AFP -
Joe Rodon - Tottenham to Stade Rennais (loan). AFP -
Borja Mayoral - Real Madrid to Getafe (£8.4m). EPA -
Cesc Fabregas - Monaco to Como (free). EPA -
Alexis Beka Beaka - Lokomotiv Moscow to Nice (£11.7m). AFP -
Marcus Tavernier -Middlesbrough to Bournemouth (£10m). Getty Images -
Aaron Ramsey - Juventus to Nice (free). AFP -
Orel Mangala - Stuttgart to Nottingham Forest (£12.7m). AFP -
David Raum - Hoffenheim to RB Leipzig (£21.8m). Getty Images -
Oscar Mingueza - Barcelona to Celta Vigo (£2.5m). Getty Images -
Jules Kounde - Sevilla to Barcelona (£45m). AFP -
Dwight McNeil - Burnley to Everton (£20m). Getty Images -
Arnaud Kalimuendo - PSG to Rennes (£21m). Getty Images -
Filip Kostic - Eintracht Frankfurt to Juventus (£14.4m). EPA -
Salvatore Sirigu - Genoa to Napoli (free). Reuters -
Mikkel Damsgaard - Sampdoria to Brentford (£12.7m). EPA -
Malang Sarr - Chelsea to Monaco (loan). AFP -
Issa Diop - West Ham United to Fulham (£15m). Getty Images -
Alexis Sanchez - Internazionale to Marseille (free). Getty Images -
Timo Werner - Chelsea to RB Leipzig (£18m). AP -
Amadou Onana - Llle to Everton (£33.8m). AFP -
Emirhan Ilkhan - Besiktas to Torino (£3.8m). PA -
Gonçalo Guedes - Valencia to Wolves (£27.5m). AP Photo -
Conor Coady - Wolves to Everton (loan). Getty Images -
Anthony Modeste - Cologne to Borussia Dortmund (£3.8m). EPA -
Angeliño - RB Leipzig to Hoffenheim (loan). Getty Images -
Marcos Senesi - Feyenoord to Bournemouth (£12.6m). AFP -
Isco - Real Madrid to Sevilla (free). EPA -
Raheem Sterling - Manchester City to Chelsea (£50m). Getty Images -
Lisandro Martinez - Ajax to Manchester United (£46m). Getty Images -
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich to Barcelona (£38.3m). AFP -
Hugo Ekitike - Reims to Paris Saint-Germain (loan). AFP -
Thomas Henry - Venezia to Verona (£3.8m). Getty Images -
Takefusa Kubo - Real Madrid to Real Sociedad (£5.2m). Getty Images -
Kalidou Koulibaly - Napoli to Chelsea (£33.8m). EPA -
Chancel Mbemba - Porto to Marseille (free). EPA -
Breel Embolo - Borussa Monchengladbach to Monaco (£10.6m). EPA -
Christian Eriksen - Brentford to Manchester United (free). PA -
Raphinha - Leeds United to Barcelona (£49m). Getty Images -
Federico Bernardeschi - Juventus to Toronto FC (free). Getty Images -
Andrea Cambiaso - Genoa to Juventus (£5.9m). Getty Images -
Arturo Vidal - Inter Milan to Flamengo (free). Getty Images -
Mohamed Bayo - Clermont to Lille (£11.8m). AFP -
Francisco Trincao - Barcelona to Sporting (loan). Getty Images -
Samu Castillejo - AC Milan to Valencia (undisclosed fee). PA -
Lewis Ferguson - Aberdeen to Bologna (£3m). PA -
Keane Lewis-Potter - Hull City to Brentford (£16m). PA -
Alessio Romagnoli - AC Milan to Lazio (free). Getty Images -
Nathan Collins - Burnley to Wolves (£20.5m). PA -
Andriy Yarmolenko - West Ham United to Al Ain (free). AP Photo -
David Ospina - Napoli to Al Nassr (free). Getty Images -
Kristian Thorstvedt - Genk to Sassuolo (£8.4m). Reuters -
Andreas Pereira -Manchester United to Fulham ( £10m). Getty Images -
Gabriel Jesus - Manchester City to Arsenal (£45m). Getty Images -
Steven Bergwijn - Tottenham Hotspur to Ajax (£26.5m). AP Photo -
Andreas Christensen - Chelsea to Barcelona (free). AFP -
Sébastien Haller - Ajax to Borussia Dortmund (£30.8m). AFP -
Flynn Downes - Swansea City to West Ham United (£12m). PA -
Junior Messias - Crotone to AC Milan (£3.8m). Reuters -
Luis Sinisterra - Feyenoord to Leeds United (£21.3m). AFP -
Brais Méndez - Celta Vigo to Real Sociedad (£12.8m). Getty Images -
Moussa Niakhaté - Mainz to Nottingham Forest (£8.7m). Getty Images -
Romeo Lavia - Manchester City to Southmpton (£12m). AP Photo -
Tyler Adams - RB Leipzig to Leeds United (£20m). AP -
Axel Witsel - Borussia Dortmund to Atletico Madrid (free). EPA -
Maya Yoshida - Sampdoria to Schalke (free). AP Photo -
Tyrell Malacia - Feyenoord to Manchester United (£12.9m). AP Photo -
Zeki Celik - Lille to Roma (£6m). AFP -
Ritsu Doan - PSV Eindhoven to Freiburg (£6.5m). AFP -
Divock Origi - Liverpool to AC Milan (free). AFP -
Rolando Mandragora - Torino to Fiorentina (£7m). EPA -
Joao Palhinha - Sporting to Fulham (£17m). Getty Images -
Franck Kessie - AC Milan to Barcelona (free). Getty Images -
Trezeguet - Aston Villa to Trabzonspor (£3.4m). AFP -
Kalvin Phillips - Leeds United to Manchester City (£45m). Reuters -
Giulian Biancone - Troyes to Nottingham Forest (£5m). AFP -
Giuliano Simeone - Atletico Madrid to Real Zaragoza (loan). EPA -
Raoul Bellanova - Cagliari to Inter Milan (loan). Getty Images -
Richarlison - Everton to Tottenham (£50 million). PA -
Fabio Carvalho - Fulham to Liverpool (£5 million). PA -
James Tarkowski Burnley to Everton (free). Getty Images -
Sime Vrsaljko - Atletico Madrid to Olympiakos (free). AP Photo -
Dean Henderson - Manchester United to Nottingham Forest (loan). PA -
Luuk de Jong - Sevilla to PSV Eindhoven (£3.4m). AP Photo -
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Roma to Inter Milan (free). Reuters -
Cenk Tosun - Everton to Besiktas (free). Reuters -
Andre Onana - Ajax to Inter Milan (free). Getty -
Moussa Sissoko - Watford to Nantes (£2m). AFP -
Corentin Tolisso - Bayern Munich to Lyon (free). AFP -
Vitinha - Porto to Paris Saint-Germain (£34m). AFP -
Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea to Inter Milan (loan). PA -
Lorenzo Insigne - Napoli to Toronto FC (free). AP -
Sven Botman - Lille to Newcastle United (£31.9m). AFP -
Takumi Minamino - Liverpool to Monaco (£15.5m). Getty Images -
Alphonse Areola - Paris Saint-Germain to West Ham United (£7.8m). AFP -
Lucas Leiva - Lazio to Gremo (free). Getty Images -
Joselu - Alaves to Espanyol (free). Getty Images -
Matt Turner - New England Revolution to Arsenal (£4.7m). Reuters -
Fernandinho - Manchester City to Athletico Paranaense (free). PA -
Bartol Franjic - Dinamo Zagreb to Wolfsburg (£6.9m). Getty Images -
Wahbi Khazri - Saint-Etienne to Montpellier (free). AFP -
Tobias Figueiredo - Hull City to Nottingham Forest (free). PA -
Pietro Pellegri - Monaco to Tornio (£3.9m). Getty Images -
Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City. Getty Images -
Malcolm Ebiowei - Derby County to Crystal Palace (undisclosed). PA -
Taiwo Awoniyi - Union Berlin to Nottingham Forest (£17m). Getty Images -
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid to Los Angeles FC (free). PA -
Lucas Alario - Bayer Leverkusen to Eintracht Frankfurt (£5.6m). PA -
Sadio Mane - Liverpool to Bayern Munich (£28m). Getty Images -
Armindo Sieb - Bayern Munich to Greuther Fürth (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Nick Pope - Burnley to Newcastle (£10m). PA -
Ki-Jana Hoever - Wolves to PSV Eindhoven (loan). PA -
Ryan Fredericks - West Ham United to Bournemouth (free). Getty Images -
Mario Götze - PSV Eindhoven to Eintracht Frankfurt (£3.4m). Getty Images -
Fabio Vieira - Porto to Arsenal (£30m). EPA -
Antonio Rudiger - Chelsea to Real Madrid (free). PA -
Merih Demiral - Juventus to Atalanta (£17.2m). AFP -
Giovanni Simeone - Cagliari to Hellas Verona (£10.3m). AP -
Marc Roca - Bayern Munich to Leeds United (£10m). PA -
Yves Bissouma - Brighton to Tottenham (£25m). PA -
Gavin Bazunu - Manchester City to Southampton (£12m). PA -
Darwin Nunez - Benfica to Liverpool (£64.3m). PA -
Aurelien Tchouameni - Monaco to Real Madrid (£85.3m). AFP -
Nemanja Matic - Manchester United to Roma (free). EPA -
Ryan Gravenberch - Ajax to Bayern Munich (£20m). EPA -
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus to Los Angeles FC (released). Getty Images -
Cameron Carter-Vickers - Tottenham to Celtic (£6m). AFP -
Alexandre Lacazette - Arsenal to Lyon (free transfer). AFP
