West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City. Erling Haaland continued his sensational form this season with back-to-back hat-tricks, leading Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The Norwegian striker scored twice in the first half and added a third late in the match, bringing his tally to seven goals in three games and ensuring City’s perfect start to the season.
Haaland opened the scoring in the 10th minute, tapping in a pass from Bernardo Silva. West Ham briefly equalized when Ruben Dias inadvertently diverted Jarrod Bowen’s cross into his own net. Haaland quickly restored City’s lead with a powerful strike into the top corner midway through the first half.
West Ham struggled to gain momentum but came close to scoring early in the second half when Mohammed Kudus hit the crossbar following a quick counterattack. This chance briefly energized the Hammers, and they managed to put City under pressure for a spell.
However, they failed to seriously test City goalkeeper Ederson. Haaland, who had been relatively quiet in the second half, found space late in the game and scored his third goal, beating the offside trap to secure the win.
With this victory, Pep Guardiola’s side has taken an early lead in the Premier League table, while West Ham languish in 14th place with just three points from three matches.
Haaland’s relentless drive is evident; after an impressive 36 league goals in his debut season in English football, he seems poised for another prolific campaign. Having enjoyed a break over the summer due to Norway’s absence from Euro 2024, Haaland has returned refreshed and eager.
He had already netted a hat-trick in Manchester City’s previous league match against Ipswich and continued his prolific streak in this game. Remarkably, he had only touched the ball six times in the first 30 minutes but managed to score twice. Despite being less involved in the second half as West Ham increased their efforts, Haaland made a decisive impact, finishing off a superb pass from Matheus Nunes to secure his hat-trick.
With seven goals so far this season, Haaland has individually outscored every other team in the Premier League. This hat-trick, his 11th for Manchester City, propels him closer to a century of league goals for the club, having reached 70 goals in just 69 appearances.