Erling Haaland enjoyed a brilliant Premier League debut after bagging a brace and handed Manchester City a well-deserved 2-0 victory over West Ham in their 2022-2023 Premier League opener.
Man City — Ederson; Walker, Rúben Dias, Aké, João Cancelo; Gündogan(C), Rodri, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Grealish.
Match Starting Line-up
West Ham — Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Johnson, Cresswell; Aoucek, Rice(C); Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio.
West Ham kicked off their 2022-2023 Premier League campaign against 2021-2022 Champions, Manchester City, in the London Stadium with over 62,500 confirmed to be in attendance – the largest home turnout for the West London club.
The match started with David Moyes’ side forcing the ball upfront into the Manchester City half. Cresswell’s cross whipped into the box from the left flank by the Man City defense for a corner to the home side. The corner was taken but was cleared by the visitors.
Manchester appeared to lose their usual hold and control of the game, as the home side continued to force it and close up the midfield. The visitors began to emerge into their usual pace and style in the later minutes.
The previously wild West Ham was now tamed as Manchester City calmed the game to their rhythm and style, dominating possession, and forcing the hosts to retreat into their half.
As the game progressed, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne were more visible in the game. Foden’s clinical touches prove far superior to the agility of the West Ham defense. Foden made the home side concede a corner kick in the 16th minute, but Fabianski gathered it when it was delivered.
A goal by Manchester City was disallowed in the 26th minute. De Bruyne was sharp to tap in a cross by Gundogan, but the flag was already up.
Manchester City continued to press for a goal. It was a 34th-minute penalty for the visitors that was the answer. Arreola brought down Haaland in the box. And here comes the much-needed goal for the visitors. Haaland converted it as he sent it to the bottom corner.
Manchester City continued to dominate the game after going a goal up. The first half ended after 4 minutes of added time with the Guardiola-led team going into the break with a narrow 1-0 lead.
The second half began with Manchester City perfectly in charge of the game. Still, no half-time change for the home side as they head into the last 45 minutes of the game.
West Ham created the first big chance of the game in the second half, 9 minutes into the game. Gundogan lost possession and the ball located Rice 22 yards from goal, but he lashed the ball wide over the bar. West Ham substituted Antonio and Lanzini for Scamacca and Benrahma in the 54th minute.
The Pep Guardiola side was still in control of the game. Manchester City struck again in the 65th minute. Haaland converted De Bruyne’s cross with a brilliant finish to make it 2-0 for the visitors, with Haaland bagging a brace on his Premier League debut.
Pep Guardiola made two substitutions in the 78th minute. Sylva and Alvarez came on while Erling Haaland and Gundogan were taken off. The visitors continued to dominate possession as the game progressed.
The visitors continued to mount pressure on their hosts, looking for a third goal. The game ended with Pep Guardiola earning a well-deserved 3 points as they defeated their hosts 2-0.
Erling Haaland’s stats against West Ham United
Erling Haaland’s half by numbers vs. West Ham:
100% duels won
91% pass accuracy
10 passes completed
2 shots
1 penalty won
Before he was substituted in the second half, Erling Haaland had scored two goals in five shots.
🗣 "It's almost 30 minutes since I scored the last goal, so I have to keep going."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 7, 2022
Erling Haaland's mentality about scoring in the Premier League 💪 pic.twitter.com/rCCBMjjeBu
