Pep Guardiola’s side has temporarily climbed to the top after defeating West Ham United.
In fine form, Erling Haaland scored a brace. The Norwegian striker surpassed Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premier League. On his big day, Manchester City beat West Ham United to move to the top of the table.
City won 3-0 at home on Saturday. Between Haaland’s two goals, Teis Reinders also found the net after a pass from the star striker.
With 12 wins and 1 draw from 17 matches, City sits atop the table with 37 points. Arsenal follows closely with 36 points from 16 matches. Arsenal now has a chance to retake a two-point lead by winning their match on Saturday.
City took the lead in the fifth minute at Etihad Stadium. Haaland received the ball from Phil Foden and struck at pace. West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola managed to save it, but he could not stop the rebound, and Haaland converted.
With this goal, Haaland matched Ronaldo’s Premier League tally. Ronaldo scored 103 goals during his two stints at Manchester United.
In the next half hour, Haaland had three more attempts but couldn’t score. West Ham slightly improved their organization but posed little threat to City, who had beaten them in 15 of their previous 16 Premier League encounters.
City doubled their lead in the 38th minute, thanks to a brilliant play from Yannick Carrasco. He stole the ball from an opponent, cut into the box, and passed to Haaland, who then assisted Reinders for a simple finish.
After halftime, Gianluigi Donnarumma made double saves to maintain the lead. West Ham, who had no shots on target in the first half, created chances early in the second, but Cristiansen Summerville and Freddy Potts were denied by Donnarumma, and Matheus Fernandes’ loose shot missed the target.
West Ham tried to match City in spirited play and created chances but failed to capitalize. Instead, in the 69th minute, they fell further behind. Savinheiro passed to Rico Lewis, who found Haaland in space. West Ham’s Jean-Clair Todibo couldn’t intervene, and Haaland finished comfortably to make it 3-0, overtaking Ronaldo in the process.
In the 76th minute, Summerville’s shot was saved by Donnarumma. Foden’s 82nd-minute effort and Savinheiro’s shot two minutes later were both blocked by Areola, keeping the scoreline unchanged.
In added time, Haaland missed a golden chance for a hat-trick, as his shot went just wide of the far post.
