Pep Guardiola sent a chilling message to one of his top players after Manchester City 3-0 victory against West Ham United which was masterminded by Erling Haaland.
In a match that felt more like a training exercise than a Premier League contest at times, Haaland increased his goal tally for both club and country. The Norwegian powerhouse scored twice and turned provider for Tijjani Reijnders, ensuring City recorded their fifth league win on the bounce.
For West Ham, the outlook is increasingly bleak. They will spend the festive period languishing in the relegation zone, their winless run now stretching to six games after a performance that lacked both spark and steel.
The script was written within five minutes of the opening whistle. City, brimming with the kind of confidence only a winning streak provides, tore through the visitors’ backline with surgical precision.
The move started on the left flank, where Nico Gonzalez combined with Phil Foden. The England international, operating with his usual elegance, cut the ball back into the danger zone.
Haaland’s first-time right-foot shot was blocked by Alphonse Areola but he made no mistake at the second attempt as he thumped home with his left foot.
It could have been two moments later. Rayan Cherki, who was a constant thorn in the Hammers’ side, whipped in a cross that seemed destined to be buried, but Haaland uncharacteristically headed wide of the target.
Despite the miss, City remained in total command, strangling the game with patient possession while West Ham retreated into a defensive shell.
The pressure eventually told again before the interval. Cherki, showing great tenacity to win the ball from Mateus Fernandes, danced into the penalty area. He found Haaland, who realized he was crowded out and intelligently opted to set up a teammate.
Tijjani Reijnders, who had drawn a save from Areola with a fierce shot three minutes earlier, smashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range. It was a goal that effectively ended the contest as a spectacle, leaving West Ham with a mountain to climb.
West Ham emerged for the second half with a renewed sense of urgency. For a brief ten-minute spell, it looked as though they might make a fight of it. Crysencio Summerville, the brightest spark in an otherwise dull Hammers side, robbed City of possession and sent a teasing ball across the face of goal.
Freddie Potts looked certain to score, but Gianluigi Donnarumma proved why he is considered world-class, reacting with lightning speed to parry the shot.
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However, any hope of a West Ham comeback was ruthlessly extinguished in the 69th minute. City’s depth was on full display as substitutes Savinho and Rico Lewis injected fresh pace into a counter-attack.
The ball pinged around the box, and a lapse in communication between two visiting defenders proved fatal. The Hammers defenders failed to clear and Haaland pounced to rifle past Areola to complete the Manchester City 3-0 victory against West Ham United.
Meanwhile, while speaking during his post match interview, Pep Guardiola claimed that his captain, Bernardo Silva, did not have a good game. According to him, the Portuguese had a bad game, although he has the ability to navigate through the bad and good games.
“Oh my god, Bernardo Silva is my weakness. He’s top. But today, Bernie?! He has to play better! Today I’m not happy with Bernie, and he’s my weakness, my favourite one. But today I’m not happy with him!” Guardiola said.
“He knows exactly what we need to play better, fluid. But he has a special sense to compete, sense of play – Bernie has incredible attributes to make a step up in good and bad moments. That is what defines him”