Manchester City secured a comprehensive victory over West Ham United, with Erling Haaland running the show as he delineated his lethal nature in front of goal by scoring a hat-trick.
It was all fireworks in the opening half, as both teams showed their relative sharpness in the attacking department.
West Ham United started the game in a lively manner, and in the 3rd minute, Jarrod Bowen drove into the box from the right before letting fly, but Manchester City goalie Ederson Moraes did well to parry the ball away.
In the 6th minute, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva combined well on the left side of the penalty box, before the latter sent an enticing cross for Erling Haaland towards the back post.
However, the Norwegian couldn’t direct his header at goal, as the ball sailed harmlessly wide, an uncharacteristic miss by the big forward.
Erling Haaland Opened The Scoring For Manchester City 10 Minutes Into The Game Against West Ham United
Four minutes later, Erling Haaland silenced his critics with a delightful goal, after Bernado Silva threaded the ball into his path.
Manchester City continued to trouble the Hammers in the first period, with Alphonse Areola having to save the blushes of his side on several occasions.
Kevin De Bruyne also saw his curling effort in the 18th minute strike the bar, before Ruben Dias unfortunately put the ball in his own net for West Ham United’s equalizer a minute later.
Bowen made a forward dash down the right, before delivering a dangerous cross into the box, with Dias crashing the ball into the back of the net after stretching.
Haaland Bags His Brace
In the 30th minute, Erling Haaland put Manchester City back into the lead, netting his 69th Premier League goal, an amazing return for the ex-Borussia Dortmund man.
Following an intricate passing move, Rico Lewis served the ball to Haaland on the left side of the penalty area, with the latter powering home a venomous effort from 10 yards into the top corner.
Kevin De Bruyne was booked in the 44th minute after halting a counter-attacking move of West Ham United.
Michel Antonio was set to launch a counter-attack for the Hammers, but De Bruyne lunged in and made an ill-timed tackle.
Manchester City had a free-kick late on in the first half, with Kevin De Bruyne stepping up to take it.
However, De Bruyne’s effort narrowly went over the top of the net and out for a goal kick to West Ham United.
Subsequently, Mohamed Kudus did well to get past Rico Lewis at the other end before hitting a low shot, which went agonizingly wide of the far post.
Manchester City were leading at the end of the interval, with West Ham United noticeably being second-fiddle to the Premier League Champions.
Why Was Alphonse Areola Substituted Out For Lukasz Fabianski?
The second half interestingly kicked off with Lukasz Fabianski replacing Alphonse Areola, with the latter withdrawn due to injury.
West Ham United, who resorted to counter-attacking moves in a bid to thwart Manchester City, were on the verge of leveling the scoreline for the second time in the game.
The Hammers broke forward on an attack, with Bowen finding Kudus, who was running into space.
After the Ghana international made it to the left side of Manchester City’s area, he smashed a thunderous strike but his effort bounced back off the upright on the left-hand side.
West Ham duo of Emerson and Max Kilmam were booked in the 61st and 63rd minute, for separate fouls on Jeremy Doku of Manchester City.
The Cityzens were much in control for most parts of the second duration, with the Hammers being conservative to the brilliance of Pep Guardiola’s side.
Erling Haaland Secured His Hat-trick Late On Against West Ham United
Erling Haaland wrapped it up for Manchester City against West Ham in the 83rd minute securing his hat-trick, with a sublime finish after he was teed up by Mattheus Nunes.
Haaland took his Premier League goal tally to 70 goals in 69 appearances, and this indicates that he has scored more goals than the number of matches he has played for the Cityzens.
Moreover, Manuel Akanji was the last player to get booked in the encounter, as he was brandished a yellow card for bringing down Lucas Paqueta in the 1st minute of 5 minutes of added time.
Erling Haaland’s Premier League Goal Return Since He Joined Manchester City
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland’s 70 goals tally has made him dwarf the numbers of players like Mohamed Salah, Ollie Watkins, Alexandar Isak, and Bukayo Saka for the most Premier League goals since the start of the 2022/23 season.
Salah, Watkins, Isak, and Saka have netted 39, 34, 31, and 31 goals, respectively, since the commencement of the 2022/23 campaign.
Additionally, Erling Haaland leads the goal-scoring chart for the 2024/25 season, with a staggering 7 goals in 3 matches.
Erling Haaland Hat-trick
Haaland has also scored back-to-back hat-tricks this term, a testament to his devilish ability in front of goal.
The 24-year-old now has 11 hat tricks as a Manchester City player, and he appears to be unstoppable in his pursuit of more success.
