Erlng Haaland produced yet another masterclass with his second successive Premier League hat-trick as Manchester City defeated West Ham United 3-1, extending their unbeaten run against the Hammers to 18 matches.
Under Julen Lopetegui, West Ham shocked quite a few by being very aggressive in the beginning. Jarrod Bowen tested Ederson early with a fierce strike, but soon after, Manchester City took charge. While Haaland had missed one of his rare headers off the mark earlier, the goal he desperately needed came in the 10 minute. Profiting from a misplaced touch by Lucas Paquetá, Haaland coolly slotted home after receiving Bernardo Silva’s pass to give City the lead.
It was all City pressure, with Kevin De Bruyne inches from doubling the lead but seeing Alphonse Areola tip his effort over the bar before later hitting the woodwork as City completely dominated. But West Ham then found a way to level things up through Bowen, who, after a brilliant individual effort, played a dangerous ball into the box which Ruben Dias inadvertently turned into his own net.
That setback was soon shrugged off by City, and approaching the half-hour, Haaland struck again. Receiving a through-ball pass from Rico Lewis, the star Norwegian passed the ball past Areola to restore the advantage for City. More was to come from Haaland, who then set up Lewis, and the full back curled just wide of a third.
The second half, though, brought in Lukasz Fabianski for his 200th West Ham appearance, but it was City’s Ederson who suffered an early scare when Mohammed Kudus drove a fine counter-attack that saw his shot bounce back off the post and offered hope to the Hammers. City’s defense, marshaled by Manuel Akanji, did not yield as Michail Antonio never had a clear sighting.
Both teams had chances to alter the scoreline, but Dias and Max Kilman shot wide. West Ham’s closest to an equaliser was Tomas Soucek, but he shot wide. The little hope left was taken away from the Hammers in the 86 minute as Haaland latched onto the through ball by Matheus Nunes coolly chipped it over Fabianski to complete his hat-trick and seal City’s victory.
This victory extends Manchester City’s unbeaten run in competitive away matches to 19 games – a run that started last October. By contrast, West Ham has now lost both of their home Premier League fixtures this season.
