Can anyone stop this man?! Erling Haaland vs West Ham 3-1! Man City did not play the perfect game, but still managed to defeat the Hammers without a hitch, all thanks to the amazing Norwegian, who scored on three occasions: in 10th, 30th, and 84th minute. The only goal for West Ham was, in fact, Ruben Dias’ own goal. The first half was much more interesting and provided us three of four goals. After the break, West Ham chased the equalizer, while Guardiola made several subs with the idea of securing the lead and his strategy proved effective.1994 – Erling Haaland is the first player to score a hat-trick in two of a team’s first three league games in a season since Paul Jewell for Bradford in 1994-95. Diamond. #WHUMCI pic.twitter.com/XslGPlRI2H— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 31, 2024 After Arsenal and Brighton had drawn 1-1 earlier today, Manchester City had the chance to remain the only team with the maximum number of points in case of a triumph over West Ham (Liverpool could do the same tomorrow). Pep Guardiola again left the newcomer Ilkay Gundogan on the bench, together with Rodri, who was not ready for the 90 minutes yet, while Jack Grealish was the starter for the first time this season.West Ham had beaten Crystal Palace and lost to Aston Villa in the initial two Premier League rounds, but the Cityzens were the most challenging possible task. Recent additions Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were all in the starting 11, just like Lucas Paqueta (in whom Man City were interested), the Ghanaian Mohammed Kudus, and the forward Michail Antonio.Three minutes into the game, Jarrod Bowen threatened Ederson, but the Brazilian was focused. Erling Haaland responded three minutes later, heading the ball over the bar. However, in the tenth minute, the Norwegian showed no mercy! Emerson and Paqueta lost the ball to Bernardo Silva, who found Haaland, and he found the net for 1-0! Kevin De Bruyne could have made it 2-0 only minutes later, but Alphonse Areola magnificently deflected the Belgian’s free-kick effort.West Ham fought back in the 19th minute, equalizing the score! Bowen crossed the ball, trying to find Antonio in the box. Ruben Dias attempted to block the cross but instead sent it into his own net – 1-1! Julen Lopetegui’s crew’s joy lasted for only 11 minutes. In the 30th minute, Haaland unleashed a strike into the roof of the net to get City back into the leading position – 2-1! There were no more notable moments until the break, but the first 45 minutes were extremely exciting.During the first half, Areola suffered an injury, and Lopetegui was forced to leave him in the locker room at the break, replacing him with the experienced Lukasz Fabianski between the posts. The Hammers threw the first punch in the second half, in the 52nd minute. Bowen started a quick counterattack, found Kudus in the box but the Ghanaian was unlucky, crashing his superb strike against Ederson’s right post. West Ham’s attacks continued and, at one point, the Cityzens definitely seemed to be on the ropes, being under Bowen, Kudus, and Antonio’s pressure. However, at the same time, Lopetegui’s team attacked with their guard down, and that could have been very dangerous, especially against offensively potent squad like Man City’s. Guardiola reacted with a sub and replaced Jeremy Doku with Gundogan in the 68th minute, making his idea very clear – securing the lead and not letting the opponents equalize. Pep admits that selling Alvarez was ‘maybe a mistake’Conversely, the Hammers’ boss knew he had no time to waste, so he refreshed both the defence and the attack with Vladimir Coufal and Niclas Fullkrug, who replaced Emerson and Antonio. The series of subs ended with Guardiola’s – Mateus Nunes was subbed in for Jack Grealish. All these tactical changes caused the second period to be much calmer than the first in which we saw fireworks and three goal.Ultimately, West Ham’s pressing left too much space for the Cityzens counterattacks, and after one of them, the “Norwegian beast” made it 3-1! Nunes sent a perfect pass for Haaland and he “took no prisoners” completing a hat-trick! This goal completely disheartened the Hammers’ and they could fight back this time. However, Lopetegui’s crew played a good game and battled it out bravely against a powerful opponent. Unfortunately for them, the boy from Norway is just unstoppable.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 3SaturdayArsenal – Brighton 1-1 (1-0)/Havertz 38 – Pedro 56/Ipswich – Fulham 1-1 (1-1)/Delap 15 – Traore 32/Leicester – Aston Villa 1-2 (0-1)/Buonanotte 73 – Onana 28, Duran 64/Everton – Bournemouth 2-3 (0-0)/Keane 50, Calvert-Lewin 57 – Semenyo 87, Cook 90+2, Sinisterra 90+6/Brentford – Southampton 3-1 (1-0)/Mbeumo 43, 65, Wissa 69 – Sugawara 90+5/Not.Forest – Wolverhampton 1-1 (1-1)/Wood 10 – Bellegarde 12/West Ham – Man.City 1-3 (1-2)/Dias 19 og – Haaland 10, 30, 84/Sunday15:30: (1.65) Chelsea (3.80) Crystal Palace (5.40)15:30: (2.55) Newcastle (3.90) Tottenham (2.60)18:00: (3.80) Man.Utd. (4.10) Liverpool (1.95)***odds are subject to change***
