Match report by talal osman
First-half goals from Erling Haaland and Tijjani Reijnders gave the Blues a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break.
And though the Hammers improved markedly after the restart, Haaland settled the victory with his second of the game midway through the second-half to wrap up a seventh win on the trot.
Phil Foden’s cross found the Norwegian lurking near the penalty spot and while his first effort was blocked, the ball fell kindly back in his path and he smashed a shot high past Alphonse Areola to make it 1-0.
With City dominant in every area, the only surprise was the second goal didn’t arrive until the 38th minute - and it was a beautifully worked move.
Rayan Cherki won the ball outside the box with a lovely shuffle of his feet, fed Haaland in the box and he in turn found Reijnders who poked the ball high into the roof of the net from six yards.
The Blues made a triple substitution midway through the second half - and it paid dividends immediately as Savinho found Rico Lewis and his touch on allowed Haaland to bang home his second of the afternoon.
There were further chances for City to increase the lead in the time that remained, but 3-0 felt just about right on the day.
Line-ups
CITY: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Nico (Lewsi 67), Bernardo (Mukasa 75), Reijnders (Khusanov 67), Foden, Cherki (Savinho 67), Haaland
SUBS: Trafford, Ake,, Gray, Mfuni, R Heskey
WEST HAM UNITED: Areola, Walker-Peters, Todibo, Kilman, Scarles (Mayers 62), Magassa, Potts (Wilson 79), Fernandes (Rodriguez 79), Summerville (Mavropanos, 78), Paqueta (Soucek 79), Bowen
SUBS: Hermansen, Igor, Irving, Kante
ATTENDANCE: 52,454
Star Man
Erling Haaland is pretty much unstoppable.
Already a modern-day legend, his finishing was once again superb as he took his seasonal tally for the Blues to 25.
And, for good measure, he provided the assist for Reijnders’ goal at a crucial stage of the game.
An epic performance from one of the greatest strikers we’ve ever seen.
