ERLING HAALAND SCORED another hat-trick as Manchester City maintained their perfect record this season and moved to the top of the charts in front of watching Oasis star Noel Gallagher.
Pep Guardiola’s masterplan was executed to perfection again as Haaland made it back-to-back trebles and seven goals in just three matches to bury West Ham 3-1.
With Gallagher in the stands at the London Stadium – a ticket was presumably easier to get hold of than for one of their shows – Haaland crashed in his eighth Premier League hat-trick.
It took his tally against teams managed by Julen Lopetegui to 12 in five matches, including a treble against Wolves in January last year.
The Norwegian, fresh from hitting three against Ipswich last weekend, opened the scoring after Bernardo Silva dispossessed former City target Lucas Paqueta.
Silva slipped in Haaland, who raced unchecked towards Alphonse Areola’s goal before calmly slotting the ball past the West Ham keeper.
City immediately threatened to blow the hosts away with Areola making a fine save to tip Kevin De Bruyne’s shot over the top.
De Bruyne’s sidefooted effort then came back off the far post with Jack Grealish, making his first start of the season, hitting the rebound wide.
But, little by little, West Ham came back into the contest and they equalised in the 19th minute when Paqueta fed Bowen, who scampered down the right before putting in a low cross which Ruben Dias sliced into his own net.
However, they were on level terms for only 10 minutes before City worked the ball along the edge of the home penalty area and Rico Lewis fed Haaland, who took a touch before lashing his shot into the roof of the net.
Haaland almost had a hat-trick before half-time when he was felled on the edge of the area by Edson Alvarez, but his free-kick grazed the top of the net.
West Ham nearly equalised with a stunning counter-attack after the break when Paqueta spun his way out of trouble inside his own penalty area.
The Brazilian coolly passed the ball out to Mohammed Kudus, who played an expansive one-two with Bowen before crashing his shot against the near post.
But West Ham saw their hopes of picking up a rare point against City slide away when Haaland raced on to a through ball from Matheus Nunes and tucked away the third.
Haaland almost grabbed a fourth but was denied by the foot of the near post as City wrapped up another emphatic win and the striker took home another match ball.
Written by Press Association and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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