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Raheem Sterling’s Manchester City debut was overshadowed by the old guard as Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany made decisive contributions in an impressive 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Having seen rivals Chelsea and Arsenal both slip up over the weekend, Manuel Pellegrini’s team took full advantage as they provided an early glimpse of their Premier League title credentials with a dominant display at the Hawthorns.
Toure and David Silva combined to hand City the initiative just nine minutes in, with the Spanish international flicking home his teammate’s shot with the aid of a deflection, although the Ivory Coast midfielder was credited with the goal.
Toure doubled City’s advantage 15 minutes later and Belgium defender Kompany added the third after half-time to cap a confident opener for last year’s runners-up, who sit top of the table after the first round of fixtures.
Sterling, signed in contentious circumstances from Liverpool for a club record STG49 million ($A103.07 million) over the close-season after his attempts to force a move from Anfield, should have joined his new teammates on the scoresheet.
The England winger spurned a glorious opportunity during what was an encouraging, yet far from flawless, competitive bow for his new club which lasted 74 minutes before he was substituted.
Deployed on the left side of a three-pronged attack, Sterling’s pace, trickery and movement posed problems for Albion, however he lacked the finishing touch in front of goal City would expect for their investment.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis will hope the arrival of their own record signing, STG12 million ($A25.24 million) Venezuela forward Salomon Rondon, will signal a marked improvement from them after his capture from Zenit St Petersburg hours before what was a disappointing start to the season.
That his side lost the initiative so early on will have been of particular frustration to Pulis.
Albion were penned into their own half by City and looked bereft of attacking ideas.
Whatever Pulis said at half-time roused West Brom, though, and there was immediately more purpose to their game upon resumption.
One of Sterling’s colleagues at Anfield last season, Rickie Lambert, almost marked his competitive Baggies bow in style with a brilliant free-kick which whistled agonisingly over.
Yet any home hopes of a revival were stopped in their tracks when Kompany successfully met Silva’s corner at the near post and scored.
-AFP
West Bromwich Albion will be looking to start off their Premier League campaign on a high when they host Manchester City. Join us on The Roar for live scores from 5:00am (AEST).
Despite being unable to defeat Manchester City in their last ten meetings, West Brom are coming off an impressive pre-season and are currently riding a five-game winning streak.
Rickie Lambert paid dividends for the Baggies since his arrival from Liverpool. The forward scored twice on debut in West Brom’s 4-nil win over the Bristol Rovers, and will be looking to impress against City as he chases his international dream.
“It is only two years ago that I scored against Scotland. I scored 15 goals and then 13 goals for Southampton and obviously it is over a year since I did that but I have just got to get back to that now” he said.
The Baggies will also be boosted by the signing of Arsenal talent Serge Gnabry, the midfielder is set to join West Bromwich on loan for the duration of the season.
Manchester City look will be desperate for a positive start to their 2015/16 Premier League campaign, the Citizens are coming off a busy yet inconsistent pre-season which saw their defence exploited more times than they would have liked.
After a 4-1 loss to Real Madrid in Melbourne, and a 4-2 loss to Stuttgart in their last pre-season match, Manuel Pellegrini’s side has a lot to work on if they wish to lift the Premier League trophy this season.
On a positive note for City, controversial signing Raheem Sterling has proven he can score goals for the Citizens, and the young striker will be desperate to prove that he is worth every cent of his hefty price.
David Silva has managed to score in four of his last five games against West Brom, and the playmaker will keen to add more to his tally.
Manager Pellegrini is confident that star striker Sergio Aguero will be fit to start for the Citizens despite battling a virus, the Argentine topped the goal scoring tally for the 2014/15 season with 26 and will be looking to make it back-to-back golden boots.
Prediction:
Despite West Brom having a strong pre-season, Manchester City have enough fire power to see them enter gameweek two with three points.
West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Manchester City
Can West Bromwich Albion find a way to stop Manchester City or will Pellegrini’s men start off the new season on a high? Join us on The Roar from 5:00am AEST to find out.
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