Manchester City put defeat in a row behind them to pick up a comfortable first victory of the season and beat Norwich 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Jack Grealish scored his first City goal after his £ 100million transfer from Aston Villa, a difficult goal that he seemed to know a little about when it tore off the leg in the net at the far post.
The reigning champions, who were beaten by Leicester in the Community Shield and then lost their Premier League opener to Tottenham last week, were initially dominant against a Canary Islander who was their own worst enemy by naively playing far too openly.
Sticking to their philosophy, Norwich were determined to play a game-based game and were swarmed by sky-blue shirts, which easily won back the ball and held it much better.
City zipped the ball with ease for the entire 90 minutes and Grealish and Gabriel Jesus, who operated on the edges, were always sources of danger.
An early own goal from Tim Krul started the score and the game was actually over a competition within half an hour. After Grealish doubled the lead, Aymeric Laporte, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez all scored in the second half to end the 5-0 win.
Here’s a closer look at how both players played …
Aymeric Laporte marked his return to the team with a goal / Michael Regan / Getty Images
Ederson (GK) 6/10: Warning when he needed to be but mostly a spectator.
Kyle Walker (RB) 7/10: Divide the Norwich defense with a sharp pass to create City’s fourth goal.
Ruben Dias (CB) 7/10: Does not have anything remarkable defensively but deserves credit for the vision to help City’s fifth goal with a measured long pass over the top.
Aymeric Laporte (CB) 7/10: Made a start instead of the rested John Stones and came on the results list early in the second half with a nice reactive finish.
Joao Cancelo (LB) 6/10: Looked sharp with his movement in the first half in particular.
Ilkay Gundogan Rarely Worried In Midfield / ADRIAN DENNIS / Getty Images
Rodri (DM) 7/10: Patrolled the midfield base and made sure Norwich could not create anything.
Ilkay Gundgan (CM) 6/10: Played just under 70 minutes and will have much tougher challenges in the future.
Bernardo Silva (CM) 6/10: Relatively quiet compared to City’s other creative talents.
Gabriel Jesus & Jack Grealish were City’s biggest threat / Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
Gabriel Jesus (RW) 9/10: Very effective from his role on the right flank and really looked up for the game. Caused the own goal to open the score and got two more assists. Later changed to the left.
Ferran Torres (ST) 6/10: Made a threat as City’s number nine and had a sharp and clinical finish ruled out by VAR for an incident earlier in the game.
Jack Grealish (LW) 7/10: His first goal for his new club was not beautiful but it will take a weight off his shoulders. Saw a lot of the ball and this will have boosted his confidence.
19-year-old Cole Palmer impressed from the bench / Michael Regan / Getty Images
Raheem Sterling (ST) 7/10: Replaced Torres in a central role after an hour and was rewarded with a goal. His clever move also pulled the Norwich defense out of position for City’s fifth.
Cole Palmer (CM) 7/10: Made a Premier League debut in the last 25 minutes and looked easy to tap the ball and create openings.
Riyad Mahrez (RW) 7/10: A darting inlet from the right was rewarded with a careful long pass and Algeria was duly guilty with City’s fifth goal of the day.
Tim Krul inadvertently scored an early own goal / Michael Regan / Getty Images
Tim Krul (GK) 5/10: Probably unlucky to have turned the ball to his own net for the opener but looked shaky in a number of situations after that.
Max Aarons (RB) 5/10: Struggled to include Grealish. Drove forward sometimes.
Grant Hanley (CB) 4/10: A very difficult afternoon started early when his attempt at clearance was ricocheted by Krul in the net.
Ben Gibson (CB) 4/10: Too easily outwitted by Sterling when City scored the fifth goal and generally struggled against fast movements.
Dimitris Giannoulis (LB) 4/10: Willing to get out when Norwich had the ball but got a terrible time from Jesus. Withdrawn at half time.
Norwich were constantly crowded in midfield / Michael Regan / Getty Images
Pierre Lees-Melou (CM) 5/10: Of the pace in midfield when City dominated.
Billy Gilmour (CM) 5/10: Would have preferred more time on the ball but it will always be a very difficult afternoon against the quality of the champions.
Lukas Rupp (CM) 4/10: Really struggled to get a foothold in midfield and lasted only 45 minutes.
Most of Teemu Pukki’s work has to be defensive / Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
Todd Cantwell (RW) 5/10: Knowledgeable on the ball when he had it but City’s intense pressure meant that he was always under pressure when he tried to get something to happen for his team.
Teemu Pukki (ST) 5/10: Spent most of his time without the ball and was completely starved of meaningful service.
Milot Rashica (LW) 4/10: A disappointment. Bad in the first half and anonymous in the second.
Bali Mumba (LB) 5/10: Pulled on at half time to try to stop the flow from City’s right flank better than Giannoulis. Did okay but was too slow to react to Mahrez’s run for the fifth goal.
Kenny McLean (CM) 4/10: Did not do better than Rupp, who he replaced at half time.
Josh Sargent (ST) Not available: Had an ungrateful task to lead the line in the final stages when his team was already 4-0 down.
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