It was a made-to-measure debut. Former Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has made a dream debut with his new club Manchester City in the Premier League. Haaland scored both goals in the 2-0 (1-0) away win of the English soccer champions at West Ham United in London on Sunday and thus took advantage of the first mistake by title rival FC Liverpool.

In front of his father Alf-Inge Haaland, who played for the Citizens from 2000 to 2003, the 22-year-old put the visitors ahead with a penalty in the 36th minute. In the second half (65th) he raised after an assist from Kevin De Bruyne.

Haaland is only the second player – after Sergio Aguero – to score twice on his league debut for Man City. The Norwegian switched from Borussia Dortmund to the team coached by Pep Guardiola in the summer for around 75 million euros.

For Manchester United, however, the new era under Dutch coach Erik ten Hag began with a defeat and protests from dissatisfied fans. England’s football record champions lost 2-1 (0-2) against Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday

Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who is said to be willing to change, and whose future has been speculated about for weeks, only came into play after 53 minutes. As a reason for why Ronaldo was not in the starting XI, ten Hag surprisingly named fitness deficits. “He works really hard to get to the right level of fitness,” said the Dutchman on the BBC. “It takes time, that’s normal.”

Even before the game, the mood around Old Trafford was tense. The fan shop at the stadium was closed for security reasons when around 1,000 United supporters demonstrated against the American owner family Glazer. However, the protests remained peaceful. One of the club’s owners, Avie Glazer, sat in the stands and was chanted by fans throughout the game.