Haaland scores twice as Man City cruise past West Ham

Erling Haaland scored two goals and assisted another as Manchester City made it five straight Premier League wins with a routine 3-0 victory over West Ham United.

Haaland opened the scoring in the fifth minute, capitalising on the rebound of his own saved shot, then got his 19th Premier League goal of the season in the second half.

In between those strikes, Tijjani Reijnders also found the net in Man City's final game before Christmas, rifling into the roof of the net after being found by Haaland inside the penalty area.

West Ham offered nothing as an attacking force in the first half, and though they improved after the interval, Man City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stood firm to preserve his clean sheet.

The victory keeps Man City second, while West Ham will spend Christmas in the bottom three, sitting 18th with 13 points.

How the match unfolded

Man City's breakthrough came when Phil Foden's centre picked out Haaland, and though Alphonse Areola kept out his first attempt, the Norwegian made no mistake on the rebound.

Two inviting deliveries from Rayan Cherki led to wayward headers from Haaland and Josko Gvardiol, with West Ham unable to escape their own territory for long periods.

And Man City's dominance was rewarded with a second goal in the 38th minute, as Reijnders finished with power following a jinking run from Cherki and a neat offload from Haaland.

West Ham started the second half more positively, with Donnarumma making a sharp double save to deny Crysencio Summerville and Freddie Potts, before Jarrod Bowen passed up two decent chances, one from each side of the area.

But Haaland put the contest to bed with his second goal in the 69th minute, side-footing past Areola after Rico Lewis flicked the ball into his path.

Donnarumma was then well-positioned to block another effort after Summerville was fed by Lucas Paqueta, while Areola denied Foden the chance to make it 4-0 at the other end.

Man City's title charge gathers pace

On Friday, Guardiola was forced to shut down rumours that this could be his final season at Man City, with the 54-year-old quipping he might not walk away until he is 75 or 76 years old.

If his team continue to suffocate opponents in the way they did in this match, Guardiola's rivals will hope he calls it a day a little sooner than that.

It appears Haaland hits a new landmark every time he steps onto the field. Having reached 100 Premier League goals against Fulham earlier this month, he scored two and assisted one to pass 200 goal involvements in Europe's top five leagues – his current total of 201 is comprised of 77 in the Bundesliga and 124 in the Premier League.

Haaland's assist helped Reijnders deliver an early Christmas gift, though that goal also owed much to Cherki. The Frenchman dispossessed West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, faced up Soungoutou Magassa and Ollie Scarles, and then squeezed his pass into Haaland inside a crowded penalty area.

Lewis's clever flick through the legs of Hammers centre-back Maximilian Kilman later teed up Haaland to make it 3-0, as Man City's attacking play continues to turn heads even with Jeremy Doku out injured.

Man City will approach next Saturday's trip to Nottingham Forest full of confidence.

Slow start gives Hammers too much to do

West Ham travelled to the Etihad knowing only a victory would give them a chance of spending Christmas Day outside the relegation zone.

And in Nuno Espirito Santo, they have a head coach with a knack for troubling Man City – he has won Premier League games against Guardiola's men while in charge of three different clubs in Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Forest.

But his hopes of another headline success were dealt a huge blow as Haaland struck before five minutes were through, and it was largely a case of damage limitation from then on.

West Ham did not attempt a single shot and had just two touches in the Man City area during the first half, and an individual error cost them the second goal as Fernandes attempted to dribble through a wall of sky-blue shirts near the edge of his own area. 

The Hammers improved massively at the start of the second half, but they found Donnarumma in good form before Bowen passed up two opportunities, the best of which he dragged wide from the right side of the box.

Few West Ham fans will want to study the table over their Christmas dinners, but Nuno's team did at least show enough in the second half at the Etihad Stadium to suggest they can get out of trouble in the new year. They host Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion before 2025 draws to a close.

Club reports

Man City report | West Ham report

What the managers said

Pep Guardiola: “We are happy to win but the way we are with the ball, we have to improve otherwise it will not be enough to be title contenders in March, April and May. We are happy, we cannot deny we are in the Champions League spots, the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and up there in the Premier League.

“I want to be honest and I said to the players ‘I’m happy and Merry Christmas’ but we have to improve, it will not be enough.”

Nuno Espirito Santo “It's very hard to play against City, they are a very good team. The quality of their players is difficult in our defensive tasks.

“But the belief was there, and especially with the support of our fans. They were incredible, even when we were losing, and they keep believing and try to support the boys.

“We have to keep this idea that everything is possible and we require improvement. [They will be] crucial for us in the next games at the London Stadium.”

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Haaland has scored 19 Premier League goals this season; it’s the joint-most by a player in a campaign before Christmas along with Andy Cole (1993/94), Kevin Phillips (1999/00) and Luis Suarez (2013/14).

Man City are just the third side in Premier League history to score 3+ goals in six successive wins against an opponent, after Arsenal against Sunderland with a run ending in October 2007 and Manchester United against Forest (ended December 2022).

Man City have won each of their last three Premier League games while keeping a clean sheet; the first time they’ve done so since December 2021.

West Ham have lost 10 of their 17 Premier League games this season (W3 D4); only in 2002/03, 2006/07 and 2022/23 have they reached 10 losses in fewer games in the competition (16 games in all of those campaigns).