Manchester City allow Erling Haaland to “do what he wants”, manager Pep Guardiola has said after the striker moved four goals clear in the Premier League top scorer standings with a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at West Ham.
Haaland’s treble – his second in seven days following City’s 4-1 home thrashing of Ipswich Town on August 24 – sent the reigning champions top of the table, with only Liverpool able to move level on points with them before next week’s international break.
“From the beginning, he was unbelievable,” Guardiola told Sky Sports. “You have to let him do what he wants. He scored three goals today but he didn’t lose one ball.
“Today is one of the games where he has played the best in all situations. When you see the games and see what we want to do, he understands because he is a smart guy. He wants to score goals.”
3️⃣ appearances
7️⃣ goalsIncredible, @ErlingHaaland 🤯 pic.twitter.com/vKuIoQntev
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 31, 2024
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Haaland vs West Ham
The 24-year-old’s total of 21 touches was the fewest of any starting player from either side, with only West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who was substituted at half-time but still had three more touches than Haaland, on the ball as comparatively rarely.
Two-time Premier League top scorer Haaland is already on course to finish as the leading marksman in the division for a third successive campaign, having latched on to Bernardo Silva’s pass and stroked a composed finish beyond Areola after 10 minutes at the London Stadium.
West Ham levelled through Ruben Dias’ own-goal nine minutes later but Haaland restored City’s advantage with an emphatic 30th-minute strike from inside the box.
A deft chip over Lukasz Fabianski completed Haaland’s 11th hat-trick for City after he beat West Ham’s offside trap with seven minutes remaining.
Erling Haaland. That is all.#ManCity pic.twitter.com/4iZnJz2jZz
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 31, 2024
Premier League goals record
Should Haaland match the count of 36 goals he recorded in his first season at City, he will be on 99 in the Premier League.
At that rate, it would take Haaland a further five seasons to eclipse the Premier League record of 260 goals by Newcastle and Blackburn Rovers legend Alan Shearer.
“With this mindset he has, he can do everything,” said Guardiola. “The numbers, with the [young] age and the games he’s played. He’s loved for what he does on the pitch.”
The second-leading marksman in the 2024-25 campaign is Noni Madueke, who has three goals courtesy of his hat-trick in Chelsea’s 6-2 win at Wolves last Sunday.
