Manchester City might have invested a record $76 million in the future – but it was an old favorite who stole the show in its opening Premier League game of the season.
While Raheem Sterling, the summer signing from Liverpool failed to mark his debut with a goal, Yaya Toure netted twice in a 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.
Vincent Kompany added a third after the interval, heading home David Silva’s corner as City cruised to victory.
Sterling, who became the most expensive English player in the history of the game after joining City from Liverpool, had a couple of chances to open his account but was denied on both occasions by Boaz Myhill, the West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper.
The 20-year-old was substituted after 74 minutes with the game already wrapped up.
Sterling was outshone on his first Premier League start for his new club by Toure and Silva with both men leaving Albion’s defenders chasing shadows.
While Toure’s second goal, a sumptuous strike, was breathtaking, it was the movement and finesse of Silva which caused the home side’s downfall.
Time and time again, the diminutive Spaniard led the opposition defenders a merry dance before weaving his way through a space which had barely existed a millisecond earlier.
Had it not been for Myhill in the Albion goal, the margin of victory would surely have been greater.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side, which finished second in the Premier League last season, hosts defending champion Chelsea in its next game on Sunday.
“We have something to prove,” Kompany told Sky Sports.
“Last season was below what we’re used to doing. It was a good way to start the first game.
“It gives us extra motivation. We came out knowing we had a point to prove. If you’d seen the faces in training last week, I knew the team was going to be ready for this game.”
City’s success came on a day the Premier League agreed a new six-year exclusive broadcasting rights deal with NBC Sports for its U.S. coverage.
According to figures provided by the Premier League, 13.7 million fans attended matches last season, while 380 games were viewed in 185 countries with coverage available in over 725 million homes.
The agreement encompasses all Premier League matches in seasons 2016/17 to 2021/22 and also includes exclusive rights for Spanish language coverage in the U.S.
