Manchester City secured their first three points in the new season at Stamford bridge defeating Chelsea 2-0.
Two goals in either half from Erling Haaland and former Chelsea midfield maestro Mateo Kovacic was enough to give the premier league defending champions, Manchester City their first win.
City were shorn of all four of their Euro 2024 finalists Rodri, Kyle Waker, John Stones and Phil Foden from the start as Guardiola opted to give them extra time off to recover from their summer exertions.
Yet, the champions were still able to lay down a marker against one of the few sides they failed to beat in the league last season.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji did play the 90 minutes despite their late return to training after reaching the knockout stages of the Euros.
“I really didn’t expect it. I know what these guys can do, but the first day and lack of training,” said Guardiola.
“We had two or three days to prepare, but we solved this lack of many things with our commitment.
“You cannot imagine how privileged and fortunate I am to live these experiences with this incredible group of players.”
