Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League with a commanding 3-0 victory over West Ham, inspired by a brace from Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker opened the scoring after five minutes, capitalising on a rebound after his initial shot was saved. He then turned provider for Tijjani Reijnders to double the lead before adding his second of the match in the 69th minute.
Haaland's first goal came from a well-worked move involving Nico Gonzalez and Phil Foden, whose cut-back allowed Haaland to volley. After the keeper saved, Haaland smashed in the rebound. He nearly scored again soon after but headed wide from a Rayan Cherki cross. City's dominance continued, and Cherki later set up Haaland, who laid the ball off for Reijnders to fire home from close range.
West Ham improved after the interval, with Crysencio Summerville and Freddie Potts threatening, but City's defence held firm. Haaland sealed the win when substitutes Savinho and Rico Lewis set him up, and despite a miscontrol, he rifled past Alphonse Areola. He came close to a hat-trick in stoppage time but shot narrowly wide.
The victory extended City's winning streak to five league matches, putting pressure on Arsenal at the summit. For West Ham, the defeat left them in the relegation zone, having now gone six games without a win.
