Erling Haaland grabbed his second hat-trick of the season to carry Manchester City to a 1-3 win against West Ham at the London Stadium.
Following Saturday afternoon’s win, Manchester City sit top of the Premier League table, two points ahead of Arsenal and Brighton.
It was also a record-breaking performance from Pep Guardiola’s side. The Catalan coach’s 17-game unbeaten streak versus the Hammers is the most by a Premier League manager against a single club – breaking Sir Alex Ferguson’s record against Charlton Athletic.
Haaland grabbed his first goal 10 minutes into the match when Manchester City took advantage of a West Ham turnover in midfield. Bernardo Silva won the ball off Lucas Paqueta and played the Norwegian through on goal.
West Ham were fortunate to draw level in the 19th minute when Jarrod Bowen’s cross came off the leg of Ruben Dias and into Manchester City’s net. It capped off a brief spell that saw West Ham put Ederson and Manchester City under some duress. However, it would be one of the few bright spots of the day for the Hammers.
Manchester City regained the lead ten minutes later when Erling Haaland beat Alphonse Areola with power. It was a well-worked team goal, that saw Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis pass the ball around West Ham’s box to set-up the Norwegian.
The Sky Blues carried their 2-1 lead into half-time and throughout most of the second-half until Matheus Nunes played Erling Haaland in behind to set-up the the 24-year-old’s latest hat-trick.
The Portuguese midfielder beat a pair of West Ham players off the dribble before playing the striker through on goal, Haaland took a few touches and chipped the goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
With the first intentional break of the season set to begin this week, Manchester City’s next match will be September 14th against Brentford at the Etihad.
Here are the five things learned from Manchester City’s win over West Ham!
A healthy Haaland is unstoppable
It was only a few weeks ago when Erling Haaland told reporters he was pain-free for the first time in ages. While it was certainly talked about to some extent, we are only now beginning to fully understand the result of that. After Saturday’s performance, Haaland now stands at 70 goals in 69 Premier League games.
The Norwegian’s seven goals in the first three matches of the season puts him at the top of the Golden Boot race, in fact, no other Premier League club has even managed to score more than seven goals so far this season.
Haaland has already grabbed his second hat-trick of the campaign, and his eight Premier League hat-tricks are now fourth all-time, trailing only Robbie Fowler (9), Alan Shearer (11) and Sergio Aguero (12). With another 35 games remaining in the league, it’s reasonable to assume Aguero’s record could fall by the Spring.
Manchester City are showing no signs of slowing down
It’s hard to imagine a Premier League club winning five league titles in a row, just like it seemed hard to imagine a Premier League club to win four titles in a row. However, Manchester City are set to enter the first international break top of the Premier League table, with a two-point lead over Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola has managed to keep Manchester City operating at near-peak capacity, despite not featuring Rodri for a single second this season. While it is still incredibly early, it’s surprising to see the Sky Blues already performing so well.
It was an interesting end of the season for the Belgian midfielder last year. De Bruyne finished the season with an excellent goals and assists record, but the actual performances were slightly worrying.
Fast forward to August and that no longer appears to be the case. While De Bruyne may not longer be as athletic or physical as he once was, he looks in better shape compared to his early 2024 self.
Manchester City have shown that they can win titles without De Bruyne. However, he remains the crucial cog in every big game, especially in the Champions League. If De Bruyne can avoid picking up another major injury, it’s easy to imagine the Sky Blues pushing for another treble.
After a few shaky performances at the start of the new season, the Croatian defender looked back to his best on Saturday. Jarrod Bowen proved to be a difficult task for him last season, yet he was rarely a threat throughout most of the match.
Manchester City’s entire defence has been strong so far, but Gvardiol’s improvement is promising and is needed if the Blues intend to win a fifth consecutive Premier League title.
Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis continue to pass the test
It was worrisome when yet another transfer window closed with Manchester City not signing a Rodri replacement. While there were a lot of positives to be taken away from Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis’ first team-up against Chelsea, there were also a few vital mistakes.
Fast forward to the end of August and while it’s not a perfect like-for-like replacement for Rodri, their partnership has been more than good enough. Losing Rodri was a death sentence last year, now they’ve already won two games away from home against clubs that contend for Europe.
