Bafana’s Foster impresses on EPL debut but Haaland steals the show

South African attacker Lyle Foster made his English Premier League debut for Burnley on Friday evening and put up a fine display against the all-conquering Manchester Cty at Turf Moor.

It was Erling Haaland, however, who proved the main difference, as usual for last season’s treble winners, netting a first half double, as City stated the defence of their Premier League title with a 3-0 win.

👏🏼 Thought Lyle Foster was fantastic tonight#twitterclarets pic.twitter.com/IxSUqInlCn

— TurfCast – Burnley FC Fan Channel (@TurfCastPodcast) August 11, 2023

Foster played on the left side of Vincent Kompany’s Burnley attack, and while Haaland struck inside the first five minutes to put City in front, the home side started to knock the ball around with some style, a trademark of their game under Kompany as they surged to the Championship title last season.

Foster signed for Burnley in January from Westerlo in Belgium and while he played a bit-part role in their romp to promotion, he looks to have a far-more significant role in the side after a full pre-season.

The 22 year-old looked in excellent shape and showed some fine touches, particularly with one first half run and shot that ended with him curling an effort just wide of Ederson’s left-hand post. Another effort was deflected wide for a corner, before Haaland showed his class with a wonderful top corner finish to put City 2-0 up.

That basically killed off the game before half time, and City added just one more after the break, with Rodri netting the third.

Foster was taken off only in the 90th minute, an indication that Kompany was happy with his night’s work, and for a young Burnley side, there will be far better opportunities to notch a first top flight win this season than against Pep Guardiola’s City machine.