Manchester City produced another scintillating display as they put West Ham to the sword with a 3-1 victory at London Stadium on Saturday. Erling Haaland was the star of the show once again following his hat-trick against Ipswich last weekend as he bagged another three goals.
The Norway international opened the scoring after just 10 minutes, before Ruben Dias turned the ball into his own net nine minutes later. Haaland then struck a second on the half hour mark, before wrapping up the victory with seven minutes remaining.
And Express Sport takes a look at four talking points from the match in the capital.
Haaland aiming to match Shearer and Henry and beat his own record
Haaland won the Premier League Golden Boot in each of his first two campaigns in England, despite missing seven games last season.
And the 24-year-old will match Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry if he takes the accolade for a third time this term. Shearer won the award for three seasons between 1995 and 1997, with Henry bagging the honour between 2004 and 2006.
Haaland’s 36 league goals during his maiden campaign in the north west saw him rack up more strikes than any other player has ever managed in a 38-game season. And he is on track to surpass that figure if he stays fit over the next nine months, with seven goals to his name already this season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold could have new Man City nemesis
Trent Alexander-Arnold finally looks set to be given a run of games at right-back for England after Kyle Walker was left out of Lee Carsley’s first Three Lions squad.
But the Liverpool player will now have to compete with City right-back Rico Lewis for a place in England’s starting line-up after the teenager was included by the new national team boss. And Lewis could also prevent Alexander-Arnold featuring for his country in midfield after occupying a central role in front of the defence during the Citizens’ first two matches of the season. The 19-year-old looked dangerous against West Ham and should have found the back of the net in the first half.
Ederson gives team boost but City could be exposed
City were given a huge boost over the summer after managing to keep hold of goalkeeper Ederson, who had been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. The Brazil international, who raced out of his goal and cleared the ball with a diving header in the second period, is dependable between the posts and will earn his side valuable points this season.
But Pep Guardiola’s side were carved open too many times against the Hammers and were lucky to only concede on one occasion. Against the top teams in the Premier League and Champions League, City can be hurt. And if they don’t shore things up, their rivals could finally topple them for honours come May.
Guardiola’s central vision
Guardiola is highly regarded for his tactical genius and few people are able to ask genuine questions of his judgement due to his winning record. But he finished the match with just one player who is naturally not a central player – and that was Lewis, who has occupied a central role this season.
Defenders Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji are all centre-backs, while midfielders Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are all central players. And Haaland is a monster in a centre forward role. Does he not need wingers and full-backs on the pitch to close out victories?
Content Source: www.express.co.uk