Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League once more with what turned into a comfortable 3-0 win over West Ham United at the Etihad on a night in which Erling Haaland broke the all-time Premier League goalscoring record.
The Norwegian netted the second goal of the game to take him ahead of Andy Cole as the man with the most Premier League goals in a single season, and continue his epic first Premier League season.
At times, it didn’t look like it was going to happen, with West Ham bravely defending in the first half and keeping a City side without Kevin de Bruyne at bay heading into the interval.
The deadlock was broken just moments into the second half, however, when a free-kick was nodded home at the far post by defender Nathan Ake, sending his side back to the top of the Premier League.
Nathan Ake’s FIRST Premier League goal of the season 🚨
WHAT a time to get it 💪 pic.twitter.com/odnfqrVJLU
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 3, 2023
West Ham began to grow into the game, but as they pushed on they were picked off on the counter attack. The ball was given away by substitute Danny Ings, before Jack Grealish slipped in Erling Haaland, who dinked the ball over Fabianski for his 51st goal of the season (35th Premier league goal) to make history and put the game firmly to bed.
WHAT A DEBUT CAMPAIGN FOR ERLING HAALAND 👏
RECORD-BREAKER 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/VtxnbAF8wp
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 3, 2023
There was even time for Phil Foden to add a third with a deflected volley which left Lukas Fabianski stranded, but the night was all about Haaland’s heroics.
📰 Table Of Contents
Player ratings
Manchester City
- GK: Stefan Ortega (7) – Had very little to do in Ederson’s absence but did what he had to with little fuss.
- RB: Kyle Walker (6) – Hardly troubled but continues to work his way back into Guardiola’s new system.
- CB: Ruben Dias (6) – Lucky to escape without a yellow card early on. Marshalled Antonio well.
- CB: John Stones (7) – Continues to excel in his new role, but could do with some work on his shooting after sending one effort into orbit.
- LB: Nathan Ake (8) – Came up with the vital opening goal and was excellent in keeping Jarrod Bowen quiet.
- RM: Riyad Mahrez (6) – Hardly saw the ball in the first half and struggled to get into the game.
- CM: Rodri (7) – The hub of Manchester City’s play, the Spaniard’s fitness will be crucial heading into the last month of the season, and he turned in another excellent performance.
- CM: Bernardo Silva (6) – Tidy without doing anything exceptional.
- LM: Jack Grealish (7) – A constant thorn in the side of first Coufal and then Johnson.
- ST: Julian Alvarez (5) – Struggled to get into the game much in the first half and was not much better in the second.
- ST: Erling Haaland (7) – Was very quiet until, as he does so often, he found the back of the net, breaking the Premier League record in the process.
Substitutes
- Phil Foden (7) – Looked bright and capped his performance with a goal, albeit a fortunate deflected effort.
- Manuel Akanji (6) – Solid when he replaced Ake.
- Kalvin Phillips (N/A) – Came on in stoppage time.
West Ham
- GK: Lukas Fabianski (6) – Made one save in the first half but was otherwise just asked to pick the ball out of his own net.
- RWB: Vladamir Coufal (6) – Defended Jack Grealish very well for the most part, before a hamstring strain saw him taken off on the hour mark.
- CB: Angelo Ogbonna (5) – Errors for both of the first two goals undid all of the hard work he had done for the rest of the game.
- CB: Thilo Kehrer (7) – Cleared the ball well when called upon, but couldn’t do anything about any of the goals.
- CB: Aaron Cresswell (7) – Impressive in his new position and made one excellent block in the first half.
- LWB: Emerson (8) – West Ham’s best player, Emerson kept Mahrez very quiet but was unfortunate to see Phil Foden’s effort go in off him.
- CM: Flynn Downes (6) – His foul led to the Manchester City opener but it was otherwise an encouraging performance from the summer signing.
- CM: Lucas Paqueta (6) – Skilful but made no real impact on the game.
- RW: Jarrod Bowen (5) – Very quiet and couldn’t have much of an influence on proceedings.
- ST: Michail Antonio (5) – Ran the channels gamely but never really got a chance to run at the Manchester City defence.
- LW: Pablo Fornals (6) – Diligent in the first half but struggled as Manchester City began to cruise.
Substitutes
- Ben Johnson (5) – Had a tough night against Jack Grealish when he came on.
- Danny Ings (5) – Gave the ball away for the second Manchester City goal but did at least offer a threat going forwards.
- Said Benrahma (5) – Couldn’t get into the game when he came on.
Expert analysis
Just to show how reliable Declan Rice is, this is the first league game he’s missed since the 1-0 loss away to Liverpool in March last season. #WHUFC
— Roshane Thomas (@RoshaneSport) May 3, 2023
Downes gives away a stupid free kick. Ogbonna covers everyone. Manchester City lead. Game over!
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) May 3, 2023
✨ NEW PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL RECORD ✨
Erling Haaland breaks Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s record with his 35th Premier League goal of the season.
The 22-year-old Manchester City star makes history with several games to spare 👏 pic.twitter.com/OO4FJx2OIb
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 3, 2023
Man City have scored 1,000 goals across all competitions under Pep Guardiola.
In 404 games. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/7bA7zj8TpY
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 3, 2023
Fan Reaction
You know what, what a half from the boys there. Ogbonna has been exceptional.
— Jamie Segal (@jamiewhu01) May 3, 2023
Ake has been a great signing for #MCFC
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) May 3, 2023
Two very avoidable goals. Disappointing. Really poor from Danny Ings to give the ball away.
— Dan Woffenden (@danwoff98) May 3, 2023
Haaland the best pure no9 goalscorer I’ve ever seen in the Premier League… and he’s 22.
It’s actually crazy 😭😭
— Joe Thomlinson (@joethomlinson) May 3, 2023
Expectation to lose aside, individual errors are absolutely killing us. So annoying because the overall performance here has been pretty damn good. #WHUFC
— Toby Cudworth (@Toby_Cudworth) May 3, 2023
