Manchester City headed into the match as clear favourites vs the Hammers. West Ham had not beaten the Sky Blues in the Premier League since all the way back in 2015 before this weekend.
As a result, it was not too surprising to see City come away with a win on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s side controlled the game from the get-go and found the breakthrough 35 minutes in.
Ilkay Gundogan slipped in Erling Haaland who was brought down by Alphonse Areola. Haaland then stepped up and converted from 12 yards.
Welcome to the Premier League Erling Haaland! 👏
He puts Man City in front at West Ham from the spot 🎯 pic.twitter.com/qofv35u4YI
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 7, 2022
Haaland then added his and City’s second of the game 65 minutes in. It was a vintage Haaland strike. The Norwegian was slipped in from deep by Kevin De Bruyne before slotting calmly past Areola and that is how the game finished.
Haaland has bagged a brace on his Premier League debut! 2️⃣
That ball from De Bruyne though… 🤤 pic.twitter.com/jsYLXj9qgQ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 7, 2022
📰 Table Of Contents
West Ham player ratings
Lukasz Fabianski (N/A) Forced off after 28 minutes with an injury.
Kurt Zouma (5) – Not a terrible game from Zouma but Haaland caused him some problems.
Ben Johnson (4.5) – Was forced to play out of position at centre-back, but wasn’t that bad considering it is not his natural position. However, his positioning was not great for Haaland’s second.
Aaron Creswell (4) – Struggled to keep Phil Foden quiet.
Tomas Soucek (3) – Really struggled to get a foothold in the game.
Declan Rice (4) – Could have done a better job closing down Gundogan before he slipped in Haaland. Skied one of West Ham’s very few chances.
Jarrod Bowen (4) – Unable to have any real impact on the game.
Manuel Lanzini (4) – Passing was decent but he had little impact going forward. Off after 56 minutes.
Pablo Fornals (5) – Created a few chances but couldn’t do too much given how little possession West Ham had.
Michail Antonio (4) – Could have done better with an early headed chance. Did little else before being taken off after 56 minutes.
Substitutes
Alphonse Areola (3) – Gave away a penalty not long after coming on. Couldn’t do much for City’s second.
Gianluca Scamacca (5) – Was slightly better than Antonio when he came on but not great.
Said Benrahma (3) – Was as ineffective as the rest of West Ham’s attacking midfielders on the day.
Conor Coventry (N/A)
Manchester City player ratings
Ederson (6) – Quite but solid game from the Brazilian.
Kyle Walker (5.5) – Passing was not the best but did little wrong defensively.
Ruben Dias (6) – Good showing, kept Antonio and then Scamacca from having any real impact.
Nathan Ake (6) – Won all of his aerial and ground duels vs West Ham. His passing was decent as well.
Joao Cancelo (6) – Switched play well on a number of occasions.
Rodri (6) – Controlled the tempo of the match well.
Ilkay Gundogan (6.5) – Great ball to Haaland to win the penalty which City opened the scoring from. Should have done better with a chance 61 minutes in.
Kevin De Bruyne (7) – Scored 27 minutes in but it was ruled out for offside. Played a superb pass to Haaland for City’s second.
Phil Foden (7) – Did a good job of producing several crosses for Erling Haaland.
Jack Grealish (5.5) – Was much less effective than his teammate on the opposite wing.
Erling Haaland (8) – Did well to win a penalty and then score it. Killed the game off with a brilliant strike after 65 minutes.
Substitutes
Bernardo Silva (3) – Did little of note.
Julian Alvarez (4) – A very aggressive cameo.
Cole Palmer (N/A)
Riyad Mahrez (N/A)
Kalvin Phillips (N/A)
Fan reaction
The Special One has arrived 👽🧘♂️ #MCFC pic.twitter.com/INyrZP1iUu
— LJ (@LJ_bets) August 7, 2022
Timo Werner v Haaland’s transition to the premier league pic.twitter.com/asaHGO9puG
— Man City Mafia (@MafiaManCity) August 7, 2022
Expert view
Cancelo-Rodri-Walker making up a very narrow midfield three for City. Meaning Cancelo gets a few opportunities to drive forward up the inside, and Walker is making a few more progressive passes (not brilliantly so far)
— Sam Lee (@SamLee) August 7, 2022
One of my favorite things about Haaland is when he starts in his own end and gets a breathtaking head of steam going on the counter. And I’m realizing City possesses so much that we may not see Haaland doing that very often.
— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) August 7, 2022
💯 @ErlingHaaland scores with the 1st shot on target of his Premier League career, converting from the penalty spot
Man City had missed 12 of 33 PL penalties (36%) between Aug 2018-May 2022, with 6 different players failing from the spot pic.twitter.com/TD57zJ0JY0
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) August 7, 2022
He’s unstoppable is @ErlingHaaland. A proper striker whose goal scoring numbers will be huge. A truly prodigious talent.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) August 7, 2022
This guy is an absolute goal scoring machine. If this is the sign of things to come, every defence in The @premierleague needs to be worried. @ErlingHaaland
— Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) August 7, 2022
