Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad to witness history being made. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
David Moyes speaks to Sky. “There was a lot of good stuff … we did a good job in making it difficult for them … to concede a goal from a set piece … was gut-wrenching … the players gave everything they could … we did really well in the first half … we did a very good job defensive-wise … we didn’t keep the ball well enough … I don’t know if the scoreline is fair on us … but Man City caused us lots of problems with how they kept the ball.”
Erling Haaland speaks to Sky. “It is a special night and special moment … I am really happy and proud … what more is there to say? … I knew about it of course but we tried to create the chances to score goals and it was not easy … they came to defend for 90 minutes … we struggled a bit in the first half … it was an important win … my first thought was to run towards the goal … Jack [Grealish] said before the game he wanted to give me the assist for the breaking goal … I knew I was going to get the ball and saw the keeper coming out … it was a perfect ball from Jack … when I chipped the ball there was a perfect bounce … I didn’t think I was going to chip but the possibility was there … [the guard of honour] was a nice feeling … it was really painful! … everyone really hit me … it was a nice thing and I am really happy.”
On the chance of breaking Dixie Dean’s 63-goal record: “I don’t think of this now … I’m going to sleep on this game and wake up tomorrow … we will try to get three points against Leeds … it will not be easy with their new manager and everything … but we cannot keep thinking about these records, I would become crazy in my head … so I don’t think of this … I will go home and play some video games and eat something and then sleep … then we think about Leeds … that is my life.”
Then he’s asked the big question: would you swap all of your goals for three trophies this season? An unequivocal nod. “Yeah. Yeah.”
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Pep Guardiola speaks to Sky. “Every game is hard … we didn’t play bad … the second half was much better … I am really pleased, five games left … one of the games we had in hand we used well … we recover quick for Saturday at 3pm against Sam Allardyce! … we were a little bit anxious in the first half … when there are games and games and games sometimes you drop a little bit … we dropped a little bit but not much.”
On Erling Haaland: “It is unbelievable how many goals he has scored … so many important goals to help us win games … all the team is satisfied for that … he is a unique person, as a player but also the person is special … he deserved the guard of honour … it is an incredible milestone … one day maybe he will break his record or someone else will, but they will have to score a lot of goals.”
On the 1,000th goal scored under his management: “The goal is the moment of the pleasure, for our fans and ourselves, so 1,000 times we enjoy … it’s not bad! A lot of goals. We keep going, we move forward.”
Historic Haaland. His goal also means the revised list of players to have scored 50 goals or more in a single season in English football now looks like this. (Those in italics were not playing in the top flight.)
63: William ‘Dixie’ Dean (Everton 1927-28)
63: George Camsell (Middlesbrough 1926-27)
58: Ted Harston (Mansfield Town 1936-37)
58: Joe Payne (Luton Town 1936-37)
54: Terry Bly (Peterborough United 1960-61)
52: Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers 1987-88)
51: Erling Haaland (Manchester City 2022-23)
50: Vic Watson (West Ham United 1929-30)
50: Tom ‘Pongo’ Waring (Aston Villa 1930-31)
50: Clarrie Bourton (Coventry City 1931-32)
50: Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers 1988-89)
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Manchester City form a guard of honour for their record-breaking striker. Erling Haaland runs through it, head down, and gets plenty of slaps on the back for his trouble. He’s earned each and every one all right, tonight breaking the record for most goals in a season in Premier League history … and there are still five fixtures to go!
35 goals in 31 appearances: Erling Haaland (Manchester City 2022-23)
34 in 40: Andy Cole (Newcastle United 1993-94)
34 in 42: Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers 1994-95)
32 in 36: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 2017-18)
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The other Premier League match has ended: Liverpool 1-0 Fulham. Mohamed Salah’s 39th-minute penalty the difference.
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FULL TIME: Manchester City 3-0 West Ham United
Grealish and Silva combine down the left to tee up Foden, but Fabianski keeps the score down. The whistle goes, and City go back to the top of the table!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 33 | 57 | 79 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 34 | 42 | 78 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 33 | 34 | 65 |
90 min +1: Phillips comes on for Rodri.
90 min: There will be three added minutes.
89 min: Some space inside the City box for Paqueta, cutting in from the left. A chance of a consolation! But no. His shot from a tight angle is parried by Ortega, then Fornals slams the rebound at Silva. City clear. West Ham deserve something for their efforts tonight: pride in a determined performance will have to do. It should give them succour and confidence for the relegation run-in, and of course their European campaign.
88 min: Speaking of goal machines, this is delightful. In you go!
87 min: That’s the 1,000th goal scored in all competitions by Manchester City since Pep Guardiola’s appointment in August 2016. The next on the list? Liverpool, with a mere 797.
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GOAL! Manchester City 3-0 West Ham United (Foden 85)
Haaland slips a pass down the left for Silva, who looks for Foden in the middle. Kehrer hacks out for a corner. Mahrez swings it in. The ball’s half cleared, but Foden meets the dropping ball, on the edge of the D, and volleys goalwards. The ball takes a huge deflection of Emerson’s ankle, sending Fabianski the wrong way and the ball into the bottom left.
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83 min: … or maybe City are happy to declare. They spend a couple of minutes slowly stroking the ball around the back.
81 min: City continue to press and harry. They’re looking for more goals. West Ham don’t deserve to be on the end of a thumping, though.
79 min: Benrahma comes on for Bowen. Fornals then attempts to beat Ortega from the halfway line; an abject effort dribbles miles wide left. Full marks for ambition, though.
78 min: Mahrez cuts back from the right flank to tee up Stones, who falls backwards and skies a shot deep into the stand. He enjoyed that nonetheless. City laugh and joke at his misfortune.
77 min: Ake and Alvarez are replaced by Akanji and Foden. It’s fair to say City’s bench is rather stronger than West Ham’s tonight.
76 min: Paqueta is back up, running and clattering Grealish. He’s got the good grace to apologise. Apology accepted.
75 min: Drinks all round as Paqueta gets a spot of treatment.
73 min: Johnson rolls a pass down the right for Ings, who cuts back from the byline. Bowen had inexplicably given up; had he kept going down the channel, he’d have been alone in the City box.
72 min: That goal also means only William ‘Dixie’ Dean has scored more goals in all competitions in one season as a top-flight player in England. Haaland’s on 51 now, behind Dean’s 1927-28 total of 63.
Haaland breaks Premier League scoring record
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 West Ham (Haaland 70) Ings plays a loose pass in the centre circle. Grealish is sent scampering down the middle. He’s got Haaland to his left. He rolls the ball into his path. Haaland enters the box, draws Fabianski, then dinks over the keeper and in! There goes that Premier League record: 35 goals in a single season is the new mark!
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69 min: Alvarez sends a dipping, curling shot towards the bottom right from 25 yards. Easy for Fabianski.
68 min: Antonio is replaced by Ings.
67 min: Alvarez balloons the free kick over everyone in the box and out for a goal kick.
66 min: Grealish drops a shoulder to go past Johnson on the left and is nudged to the ground for his trouble. A free kick in a dangerous position.
65 min: City calm things down a bit with some sterile possession in the middle of the park.
63 min: Paqueta wins a corner down the left. One leads to another, then Ortega punches away bravely under intense pressure from Antonio. This is a good response to falling behind from West Ham.
62 min: … that’s all come at the expense of Coufal, who did his hamstring making that run. He goes off, to be replaced by Johnson.
60 min: Coufal steams down the right and crosses deep for Bowen. Walker heads behind for a corner, from which nothing comes, although …
58 min: Haaland chases a long pass down the left. Kehrer comes across and takes Haaland down in agricultural style. Penalty? It should be, but it’s not given. The bit-of-ball defence there. Then from the resulting corner, Stones looks to be bodychecked by Ogbonna, but City aren’t getting that decision either. Nobody knows anything any more.
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57 min: Paqueta has the opportunity to release Antonio down the left flank, but waits far too long and the chance is gone. He eventually makes the pass, but by the time he does, City have regrouped. Antonio waves his arms around in frustration.
55 min: City probe and push, push and probe. West Ham can’t get a sniff. On this very subject, here’s Zach Neeley: “Presuming West Ham don’t need to sub their keeper, and that chasing City around like this is exhausting, West Ham will use all five subs and only have six outfield players available. To be the one left out will really feel like a last picked at playtime moment.”
53 min: Alvarez scampers into the West Ham box down the left, but just as it looks as though things will open up for a shot, he slips. Goal kick. Then City come again, Haaland racing in from the right and one-twoing with Grealish, only to fail to control the return pass with only Fabianski to beat.
51 min: City celebrate their goal with as much relief as joy. They’ll be going back to the top of the table as things stand.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 33 | 55 | 79 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 34 | 42 | 78 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 33 | 34 | 65 |
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 West Ham United (Ake 49)
Mahrez swings it towards the back stick. Ogbonna has dropped far too deep, playing Ake, behind him, onside. Ake powers a downward header past Fabianski, and there goes West Ham’s brave resistance!
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49 min: Grealish dances his way down the inside-left channel and invites a crude slide from Downes, who goes into the book. And from the free kick …
48 min: Emerson bothers Stones down the left and wins a throw deep in City territory. One throw leads to another. West Ham take their sweet time over the second, earning a smattering of abuse for the brazen grift. Then Antonio flings a long one into the mixer. Emerson can’t connect at the near post, and City tidy up, but that’s West Ham two minutes closer to full time.
46 min: City stroke it around gracefully. City always stroke it around gracefully.
City get the second half started. No half-time changes. “Do you know if players train their concentration?” wonders Gary Naylor. “One lapse from West Ham and they’ll be cooked, but maintain these levels and they sneak home with a point at least.”
Half-time entertainment.
Half-time at Anfield: Liverpool 1-0 Fulham.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 0-0 West Ham United
That’s an impressive 45 from a second-string West Ham. City traipse off glumly. A title-race twist coming up?
45 min: There will be one added minute.
44 min: Haaland powers towards the West Ham box. He attempts a long-range one-two with Grealish on the left, but upon chasing the return pass, is lightly brushed by Downes as he enters the box. He opts to go down, looking to purchase a soft penalty. The referee’s not interested. You’ve seen them given, I guess, but that would have been very generous. VAR doesn’t show any interest either. Haaland looks pained.
42 min: The ball drops to Fornals, just to the right of the D. The resulting volley is as wild as it gets. Goal kick. That was a chance to work Ortega. Far from easy, but a rare chance nonetheless.
41 min: Stones is a constant menace, popping up in the West Ham box at regular intervals. He’s nearly released down the right by Silva’s wedge, but can’t bring in the pass. Goal kick. On the touchline, Pep Guardiola cuts a frustrated figure, waving his arms around in irritation.
40 min: In the other Premier League match being played tonight, Liverpool have just taken the lead against Fulham at Anfield. Mohamed Salah with a 39th-minute penalty.
38 min: Silva falls backwards over Ogbonna’s leg in the West Ham box, and claims for a penalty that he’s never going to get. We go on.
37 min: Grealish does what Grealish does, drawing a clumsy foul out on the left. Coufal at fault this time. The free kick’s hooked into the mixer, and pinballs around the West Ham box for a bit, but doesn’t quite fall to the lurking Stones. The Hammers clear their lines.
35 min: Stones flicks Mahrez into space down the left and prepares to flick across for Haaland to tap home. Kehrer reacts well, sticking out a foot to divert the ball out for a corner. The set piece is hit long and headed wide right by Stones.
34 min: Silva is nearly sent clear by a long pass down the left. Downes sticks to him like glue and eventually Silva is forced to turn tail. That’s staunch defence.
32 min: Rodri and Haaland one-two down the inside-left channel, and suddenly the former’s clear in the box! Rodri opens himself up and sidefoots a wonderfully forensic effort across Fabianski and towards the bottom right … but the ball hits the inside of the post, rolls all the way across the open goal, and spins out for a goal kick. Eh? How? City so close!
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30 min: Chances from tight angles at either end! First up Bowen has a crack from a tight angle on the right, released by one simple throw. Ortega blocks with Emerson behind him, waiting to tap in any cross or rebound. City go up the other end, Grealish steaming in from the left and creaming a shot off the base of the left-hand post. Fabianski got a fingertip to that, but City aren’t getting the corner they deserve.
28 min: Fornals sends a speculative overhead kick (!) down the inside-right channel, and the bounce of the ball nearly confuses Ake and releases Bowen. But its spin saves City: just as it looks as though Bowen will burst clear, the ball bounces oddly and the hosts tidy up.
27 min: Grealish is beginning to cause a lot of trouble down the left. Yet another cross that only just evades Alvarez and Haaland.
25 min: Grealish tries again, another cross from the left. Mahrez can’t quite leap high enough, six yards out. Haaland meets it at the far stick but can only send it wide. The wait for goal number 51 goes on and on and on: that’s 112 barren minutes now since that early penalty at Craven Cottage on Sunday. Oh Erling!
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23 min: Grealish crosses from the left. Stones and Haaland are in the middle, six yards out, preparing to nut home. But Ogbonna eyebrows out for a corner, just in time. He then clears the corner. Some top-drawer defiance by West Ham so far.
21 min: Antonio embarks on a power run down the left. He’s got absolutely nobody with him, so attempts to take Walker on in a footrace. Even for Antonio that’s a big ask, and Walker sticks to his shoulder and eventually ushers him out of play. This could be a fun duel.
19 min: A lot of patient City probing.
17 min: Mahrez tries to release Alvarez down the inside-right channel but gets the pass all wrong and clanks the ball out of play for a goal kick. On the touchline, Pep bows his head and quietly seethes. West Ham have done well to disrupt City here, after an uncertain start.
15 min: Silva slips Alvarez into acres down the inside-left channel. Alvarez enters the box and has the right to shoot, but attempts to roll across for Haaland, who is all alone in the middle, waiting to tap home. Cresswell does very well to slide in and block, the ball squirting back to Fabianski. A goal-saving intervention.
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13 min: Emerson one-twos with Antonio down the left and is scythed by Walker, near the byline, just outside the City box. Another player very lucky not to go into the referee’s notebook … and again the resulting free kick is a non-event. Somewhere in the multiverse, City have two of their defensive line on a booking.
12 min: Rodri’s miskick allows Fornals and Antonio to scamper upfield. Dias comes across and takes out Antonio with a hilariously mistimed slide tackle. Just a free kick, and a small wonder that Dias doesn’t go into the book. Nothing comes of the free kick.
10 min: Bowen runs hard down the right but there’s nobody in support and he eventually runs out of road. City counter quickly, and Grealish, out left, crosses low for Mahrez, who attempts an instant sweep into the bottom left. Shades of Xhaka-Odegaard for Arsenal against Chelsea at the Emirates last night (x2). Fabianski saves and West Ham deal with the resulting corner.
8 min: West Ham deal with the corner. “Another year, another City title,” predicts Mary Waltz. “As far as City v Arsenal I am neutral. But I was sort of rooting for the Gunners just so I could read a different story. There are some books I enjoy reading multiple times but not every spring.”
7 min: Grealish’s cheeky backheel nearly releases Silva down the left. City have to settle for a corner off Coufal.
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5 min: Grealish comes bombing in from the left and briefly threatens to get into shooting position, but the ball’s poked away from him at the last. City look in the mood … but then again, City always look in the mood. West Ham have barely had a touch.
3 min: Silva embarks on a baroque ramble down the left and nearly slips his way past three claret shirts. He’s eventually dispossessed but what a silky run.
71 seconds: Alvarez advances towards the West Ham box and attempts to thread a shot into the bottom left from distance. Fabianski gathers.
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Eight seconds: City take receipt of the ball and start stroking it around.
West Ham get the ball rolling. A mood of quiet contemplation at the Etihad, the sort of atmosphere you’d expect when the home side are 11-2 on while the visitors are 17-1 against … but then a blast of Blue Moon gets the party started. Here we go, then.
The teams are out! City in their sky blue with early-70s centred badge, West Ham in their claret with early-90s over-the-shoulder flashes. A proper mash-up of Rodney Marsh, Colin Bell, Julian Dicks and BAC Windows vibes here. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
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Records. When we last published the full list of players to have scored 50 goals or more in a single season in English football – a full seven days ago – Erling Haaland wasn’t on it. Now, after goals against Arsenal and Fulham, he is. (Those in italics were not playing in the top flight.)
63: Dixie Dean (Everton 1927-28)
63: George Camsell (Middlesbrough 1926-27)
58: Ted Harston (Mansfield Town 1936-37)
58: Joe Payne (Luton Town 1936-37)
54: Terry Bly (Peterborough United 1960-61)
52: Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers 1987-88)
50: Vic Watson (West Ham United 1929-30)
50: Tom ‘Pongo’ Waring (Aston Villa 1930-31)
50: Clarrie Bourton (Coventry City 1931-32)
50: Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers 1988-89)
50: Erling Haaland (Manchester City 2022-23)
So what’s next? One more goal means he’ll break the all-time Premier League record for goals in a single campaign: he’s currently on 34, sharing the record with Andy Cole (Newcastle United 1993-94) and Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers 1994-95). More importantly, given that football didn’t start in 1992, a 51st goal in all competitions would see him overtake Vic Watson and Pongo Waring in the all-time top-flight list, behind only Dixie Dean. There’s a fair chance Haaland will overhaul Dean’s grand total by the end of the season, though only (!) in all competitions: Dean scored 60 in the league in 1927-28, a record that’s unlikely to be bettered any time soon. Er, probably. Erling?
David Moyes talks to Sky Sports. “We’d worked on our team yesterday but overnight three of them took ill so we had to change it around … hopefully it’s not too bad … sickness, etcetera … there’s nothing we can do about it … it only happened today, we sent the players home at 2pm so it was too late to bring any of the young boys up to add to the bench … it gives some other players opportunities … it was always a tough game … I’m hoping we can show it and make it as difficult as we possibly can … good performances lead to good results but if I didn’t get a performance tonight yet we won I wouldn’t be complaining! … anything out of this game would be a bonus.”
Pep Guardiola is asked by Sky Sports whether he watched last night’s game between Arsenal and Chelsea. “Yes, Arsenal played really good as they have done all season … Ederson needs to rest a little bit … we have a lot of games and to rest is good … Kevin De Bruyne is feeling better … the season is too long, it is up and down, you cannot be all the time winning … but the team is really good and that is why we are here … the guys who did not start could play perfectly … it is not easy but it is what it is … Jack Grealish has stepped up compared to last season … he was shy … he could not believe he was here … every player can be better … every player can improve … we cannot deny how important the semi-final of the Champions League is … but the Premier League is so nice … the feeling is that you have been the best in the country for 38 fixtures … I never thought for one second after the Arsenal game that it is over … I know Mikel Arteta and he is a huge competitor … we have to prepare … six games, tough games … everyone plays for many things.”
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Manchester City make three changes to the side that started the 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday. Stefan Ortega makes his Premier League debut, replacing Ederson in goal, while Bernardo Silva and Nathan Ake take the places of Ilkay Gundogan and Manuel Akanji, who both drop to the bench.
West Ham United make four changes to the team sent out for the 4-3 defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday. All of them are enforced: Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd have fallen victim to a bug that’s swept the West Ham squad, while Kurt Zouma is injured. Aaron Cresswell, Thilo Kehrer, Angelo Ogbonna and Flynn Downes step up.
The teams
Manchester City: Ortega, Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Silva, Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish, Haaland.
Subs: Ederson, Phillips, Gundogan, Laporte, Gomez, Akanji, Perrone, Foden, Lewis.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Coufal, Kehrer, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Emerson, Downes, Paqueta, Fornals, Bowen, Antonio.
Subs: Areola, Anang, Johnson, Lanzini, Cornet, Ings, Benrahma.
Referee: John Brooks
🔵 𝑻𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑵𝑬𝑾𝑺 ⚒️
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 3, 2023
XI | Ortega Moreno, Walker (C), Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ederson, Phillips, Gundogan, Laporte, Gomez, Akanji, Perrone, Foden, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/s1OPmihxCe
Tonight's team to face Manchester City ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/a10Go4IkGT
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 3, 2023
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Preamble
Yesterday evening Arsenal did this …
… which meant they went top of the table like this …
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 34 | 42 | 78 |
| 2 | Man City | 32 | 54 | 76 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 33 | 34 | 65 |
… and so Manchester City need a win that will take them back to the summit, against a West Ham team battling relegation thus …
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 34 | -21 | 37 |
| 15 | West Ham | 33 | -10 | 34 |
| 16 | Leicester | 34 | -13 | 30 |
… so it’s a big one at the Etihad tonight. Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
