Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his first goal of the year.
Image credit: OneFootball
Manchester City began 2025 with a commanding 4-1 victory over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on January 4th.
This win marked City’s first back-to-back Premier League victories since October, elevating them to sixth place in the league with 34 points, 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.
Savinho Shines, Haaland Strikes
The match started with City exerting control through swift passing and precise movement.
The breakthrough came in the 30th minute when City’s Savinho, starting his first Premier League match, delivered a teasing cross that deflected off Vladimir Coufal into West Ham’s net for an own goal.
City doubled their lead just before halftime when Savinho once again turned provider. His pinpoint cross was met by Erling Haaland, who powered home a header, marking his first goal of the evening.
Haaland and Foden Seal the Game
After the restart, West Ham sought to reduce the deficit, with Lucas Paquetá creating opportunities. However, City’s defense, marshaled by Ruben Dias, held firm.
In the 55th minute, Haaland struck again, calmly finishing after a clever through ball from Bernardo Silva.
This brought his Premier League tally to 16 goals, putting him just behind Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.
Three minutes later, Phil Foden made it 4-0. The English midfielder capitalized on a mix-up in West Ham’s defense to fire a composed shot past Alphonse Areola.
West Ham’s Consolation and Defensive Woes
West Ham managed a consolation goal in the 70th minute through Niclas Füllkrug. The German striker latched onto a cross from Emerson Palmieri to beat Ederson, but it was too little, too late.
Despite managing 17 shots in the game, West Ham struggled with accuracy, recording only four on target. Their defensive frailties were evident, having conceded three or more goals for the eighth time this season.
Key Performances
Erling Haaland: A clinical display with two goals, reaffirming his status as one of the league’s deadliest forwards.
Savinho: The young Brazilian impressed with two assists and constant attacking energy.
Phil Foden: A tireless performance capped with a well-taken goal.
West Ham’s Struggles: Niclas Füllkrug was a rare bright spot in an otherwise lackluster team performance.
Managers’ Reactions
Pep Guardiola expressed his satisfaction with the win:
I’m very pleased with the result but you cannot ask me if the old Manchester City is back. If you saw the game, we are not.
Julen Lopetegui admitted disappointment in his team’s defensive vulnerabilities:
We had a good period in the first half. We started the game very well. They had a period after maybe 15 or 20 minutes where they cut through us once or twice. But after that, I think we sorted that out, and I thought in the second half really, there was possibly more action in and around their penalty area than even there was around ours.
What’s Next?
Manchester City will hope to build on this momentum as they face Brighton in their next league fixture.
Meanwhile, West Ham, now 13th in the table, must regroup ahead of their clash with Nottingham Forest to avoid being drawn into a relegation battle.