West Ham 1-3 Manchester City (A) Review

Premier League GW3

MOTM: Erling Haaland

Other standout performances include: Kevin De Bruyne & Bernardo Silva

Notable Stats:

• Manuel Akanji made his 100th appearance for Manchester City against West Ham.

• Erling Haaland is the first player to score a hat-trick in two of a team’s first three league games in a season since Paul Jewell for Bradford in 1994/95.

• Erling Haaland’s seven goals so far in 2024/25 is the most a player has ever scored in a team’s first three Premier League matches of a season. Second is Edin Dzeko with six goals during the 2011/12 season.

• Most Premier League Hat-tricks
  Sergio Aguero (12) - 275 games
  Alan Shearer (11) - 441 games
  Robbie Fowler (9) - 379 games
  Erling Haaland (8) - 69 games

Game Stats: West Ham - Man City

• xG: 1.03 - 3.4

• xThreat: 0.99 - 2.55

• Possession: 32.7% - 67.3%

• Field Tilt: 25.1% - 74.9%

• Penalty Box Shots: 7 - 19

• Deep Completions: 7 - 23

• Buildup Completion: 83.3% — 93.9%

• PPDA: 21.2 - 8.5

• High Turnovers: 4 - 8

• 10+ Pass Sequences: 11 - 34

To stay up to date with player’s minutes across each match, check out the live Google sheet linked below. 👇

Stats dashboard to follow after game week 5 against Arsenal.

Kevin De Bruyne was a problem for West Ham all game long. Providing the runs for Grealish to pick out in the first half. Creating from the by-line with his crosses. Getting into position for cutbacks from Jeremy Doku. Operating outside the opposition block and even clearing up second balls. Bernardo Silva was right next to him, incredible work rate off the ball pressing West Ham. Helped in the buildup in the first half to ease into control of the match. Rico Lewis continued to show why he is the starting right-back this season and it’s likely he finishes the season with more minutes than Walker. Get’s into great positions inside the box and the goals will come.

Mateo Kovacic turned in now three performances in the Premier League at six, in place of Rodri and City has not missed him. That says it all. The back line dealt with the West Ham front line quite well throughout the match. Fortunate not to concede one from Kudus (off the post) but that came from a set-piece.

Jack Grealish showed what he can do and he’ll be an asset to the team if consistently performing and available.

Jeremy Doku did his job fine on the right wing, made some good contributions in the press to win turnovers, and provided a couple of cutbacks that City should have done better with.

Ilkay Gundogan came on for the last 22 minutes and helped City settle down the tempo, taking control of the match away from West Ham who had some promising moments in transition and settled possession. Involvement in the third goal and put Haaland through for what could have been his fourth.

Matheus Nunes was also on for the final twenty minutes for a positive performance. The assist he provided for Haaland to score his third goal was top work. I’ve spent the past season speaking about his ability but my concern has always been whether he gets the minutes in the team to show it. That is still unknown but Guardiola thinks he will play a part.

Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake came on for the final couple of minutes. Once City returns after the International break we’ll see them both more often.

West Ham Setup

In the opening few minutes, West Ham was bright and aggressive in the duels, and City was forced into mistakes on the ball. Gvardiol pulled off some incredible defensive work to stop Antonio from scoring from a cross into the box. Bowen cut inside to fizz a shot at Ederson.

From there, they struggle to create enough threat in transition against the City's back line. Often, when they can build up like they have in the screenshot below, they haven’t committed enough players to trouble City.

So you end up with situations like this where it’s difficult for Paqueta to pick out a dangerous pass and the two wingers to find space unless it’s perfect through ball. They managed to equalize after the cross attempt from Bowen across the goal was deflected off Ruben Dias.

For the second half West Ham made a tactical change that benefitted them in a few ways. Moving to a back five. It meant Rico Lewis was easier to pick up inside the box. The City wingers could be matched up 1v1 with the FB and either Kudus/Bowen was able to support. Then the LCB or RCB could deal with any underlapping runs.

On the other side of the pitch, it meant West Ham could thrust themselves into an attacking transition quickly. Both full-backs had more license to get forward and also moved inside in possession.

Despite the result, there were plenty of encouraging signs from West Ham in the match along with the areas to improve. AWB looks poised for a good season, great footwork around the box a few times that helped West Ham create chances. Todibo will eventually make it into the team and make them a better side on the ball. Summerville will become a dangerous weapon off the bench. Best for City that they’ve got this match out of the way early on.

Manchester City Setup

The best place to start is the passing map included below, giving you a clear picture of what City is trying to do on the ball. Rico Lewis's role is about his movement off the ball, rather than being a passer in the final third, drifting into space along the edge of the box. De Bruyne and Bernardo moving out wide to support the wingers. The remaining back line became a three with both Gvardiol and Akanji comfortable on the ball. Kovacic became the hub.

The team this season is better placed to either initiate a press themselves or jump on an opposition mistake. For the first goal, it was the latter, Bernardo forcing an error and playing the ball through to Erling Haaland.

The aim is to keep the distances between Haaland, Bernardo (RCM), De Bruyne (LCM), and Kovacic (DM) small. Easier for one of those to jump and to make the pass through to Haaland. Using a 4-1-4-1 shape. Wingers tuck in. The PPDA has dropped from last season's average 12.0 to 8.5 in this match, which matches up with the actions on the pitch (6.2 against Ipswich). Bernardo Silva has been key in the last three PL matches to pulling it off.

In the first half, City wanted to get Jack Grealish into these positions as much as possible. Pulling a winger towards him. De Bruyne makes under/over-lapping runs and two other players make runs into the box (Bernardo + Haaland). Kovacic, Lewis, and Gvardiol could all look to make late runs. Jeremy Doku holds the width on the far right side.

Reflected in their concentration of play, City wanted to use the right side with Doku as a decoy. Shift West Ham over to the right side before looking to switch to the left side of Grealish. In the first half Kovacic, Akanji, and Dias all provided two long passes each, over to the left side.

De Bruyne touch map from the first half. After Grealish was picked out in space, he was able to weigh several good passes through to De Bruyne who could then cross into the box. Grealish could also drive inside, as the full-back was tied up, which led to the first goal.

A reminder of what Grealish can offer when he's fresh and focused. Crystal Palace (A) last season was the best example of his ability but this season it'll be about whether he can deliver those performances consistently and be more available. A big asset to the team at his best.

This touch from Haaland put Rico Lewis through inside the box.

The third goal started with Gvardiol passing to Gundogan, holding off the defender, and laying it off to Nunes. He steps past the defender who presses him, coming inside past Coufal and putting the ball through for Haaland to chip past the keeper. Holdup play, ball carrying, off-the-ball movement, and a well-weighted through ball all come together for an excellent goal. The highlight of an encouraging display off the bench from Matheus Nunes. Another reminder of how impactful resigning Gundogan will be this season.

Moving Forward

It’s been to City’s benefit to keep the team mostly the same throughout the opening few matches in the Premier League. Finding its rhythm. As Pep mentions below, after the break it’ll be back to two matches a week. Time for rotation.

Here is the dashboard after City beat West Ham, the table before the fixtures on Sunday. Top of the table and Haaland is the top scorer in the Premier League.

League Cup fixture date against Watford (H) TBC*

Before the next match, several players have international fixtures to play. Hopefully, all return with no injuries!

Next up for Manchester City is a Premier League home match against Brentford, on 14th September.

LAST WORD👋

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