Manchester City have won their opening Premier League fixture against Chelsea – and there was a debut for new signing Savinho.
Manchester City were without Rodri, and the three players who represented England at Euro 2024 all started on the bench at Stamford Bridge.
But it was still a strong starting XI for City, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland all starting.
It was Haaland who broke the deadlock for City, finishing well after a deft touch from Bernardo. The striker looked as though he’d taken too many touches, but produced a lovely dinked finish past Robert Sanchez.
Mateo Kovacic then drove forward in the second-half to double City’s lead.
After feeling his way into the game, new signing Savinho really came to life for City.
He started on the right, but moved over to the left to play against Marc Cucurella, and he gave the Spaniard an uncomfortable afternoon.
The Brazilian showed fantastic footwork at times and beat Cucurella a couple of times to make his way into the box.
It was clear to see why Savinho counts Riyad Mahrez as one of his biggest role models, with the youngster playing in a very similar way, all while wearing the Algerian’s old number 26 shirt, of course.
Sadly though, he was forced off at half-time with an injury.
Man City fans react as Savinho makes Premier League debut for Manchester City in win over Chelsea
Savinho was always in with a good chance of starting against Chelsea.
The £33 million signing from Troyes looked good against Manchester United in the Community Shield, and Oscar Bobb picked up an unfortunate injury earlier this week meaning he’s set for a spell on the sidelines.
Savinho looked very sharp, and his footwork made the Chelsea defenders uncomfortable. There were a few times where he looked like he was going to get tackled, only to shift the ball away at the last moment.
On social media, City fans were left purring seeing how good Savinho played.
And there was one man who some City fans thought Savinho reminded them of.
Savinho will shine
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Savinho having to go off with an injury was really unfortunate, because he had struck fear into the Chelsea defenders he was on.
The South American has only been at City for five minutes but he already looked like a potential superstar in the making.
Currently, he appears to be a little bit one-footed. But he will be working on his weak foot and fans will back him to explode.
Hopefully, he will not be out for too long after being forced off at half-time.
