Haaland brace downs Hammers and gives Guardiola's men glimmer of hope
RESURGENCE: Manchester City's Erling Haaland scores their side's second goal of the game.
ERLING Haaland’s two goals made it 16 for the season for the Manchester City striker and offered Pep Guardiola’s side some glimmer of hope as he enters a new year.
The joint-biggest win of this so-far worrying season for the defending champions also featured a goal from Phil Foden, just his second in the league, and saw them record consecutive league wins for the first time since October.
It was still a win that had moments of anxiety for City supporters, perplexed by their recent collapse, but if Haaland can consistently re-discover his touch in front of goal, perhaps the season may yet end in some form of success.
Having scored in last weekend’s win at Leicester, Haaland has now scored in consecutive league games for the first time since he opened this season with goals in the first four matches. And a return of 21 goals in all competitions is still respectable.
But this is far from a City side purring at anything like the levels to which we have been accustomed in recent years.
And before they took a fortunate lead, through Vladimir Coufal’s 10th minute own goal, they could have found themselves two-goals down.
Mohammed Kudus missed the first chance, shooting into the side-netting, but then set up Tomas Soucek with a clever pass from the by-line.
It found the Hammers skipper unmarked a dozen yards out but he dragged his shot well wide, a miss that looked all the more costly when City scored the opener soon after.
It came from Savinho’s cross which was first cleared but then, as the young Brazilian received the ball back, his well-hit, low cross deflected off Coufal’s boot and beat Alphonse Areola at his near post.
It was a rough stroke of bad luck for West Ham, and manager Julen Lopetegui, who is coming under increasing pressure following last weekend’s five-goal home defeat to Liverpool.
But there were chances for the Hammers to equalise, not least when Crysencio Summerville pounced on a mistake by Manuel Akanji and would have been clear on goal but was harshly judged to have fouled the City defender.
And the game looked beyond the visitors when Haaland doubled the lead three minutes before the interval, with Savinho again the creator.
This time, the winger showed brilliant footwork and skill to beat Coufal, twisting past him twice and sending over a lopping cross for Haaland to head into an unguarded goal, with Areola having come to the near-post.
There was a scare for City early in the second half, with Stefan Ortega alert to tip a dangerous Coufal cross over his bar, but Haaland made sure that, even by his team’s recent low standards, there would be no danger of surrendering the three points.
Yet again, the goal came from a Savinho pass after 55 minutes, a short, tidy ball that split the defence and allowed Haaland to race through and lift his shot cleverly over Max Kilman and the on-rushing Areola.
Just three minutes later, Foden got in on the act after suicidal play at the back by West Ham and a poor pass from Kudus to Edson Alvarez, which was pounced upon by Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian could have shot but selflessly played in Foden who finished through the legs of Areola.
Still, the problems of City’s recent poor run remain, specifically in defence, and West Ham deserved their 70th minute consolation as Niclas Fullkrug arrived ahead of Josko Gvardiol to convert Soucek’s cross.
That goal saw City’s defence turn in a jittery final 20 minutes, with Wan-Bissaka, Summerville, Soucek and Lucas Paqueta all squandering late chances as they collated 17 shots with just one goal to show for them.
Ortega 6; Lewis 6, Akanji 5, Ake 6 (Walker 61, 4), Gvardiol 5; Kovacic 7 (Gundogan 61, 5); Foden 7, De Bruyne 7, Silva 6, Savinho 8 (McAtee 80, 5); Haaland 7 (Grealish 83).
Areola 6; Coufal 5, Todibo 5 (Mavropanos 53, 5), Kilman 6, Wan-Bissaka 7; Soucek 6, Alvarez 5 (Ings 87); Kudus 5 (Guilherme 72 5), Paqueta 6, Summerville 7; Fullkrug 6.
M Salisbury 5
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