Erling Haaland brace secures fifth straight Premier League win for Man City
Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City continued their imperious Premier League form with a comfortable victory over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium, moving Pep Guardiola's side to the top of the table.
City made the perfect start, opening the scoring inside the first five minutes when Haaland reacted quickest to convert the rebound after Alphonse Areola had saved his initial effort.
The champions created chances with ease throughout the first half, with Haaland missing a close-range free header and Tijjani Reijnders forcing another low save from the West Ham goalkeeper.
Reijnders doubled City's advantage seven minutes before the interval, powering Haaland's pass into the roof of the net to cap a dominant opening period.
West Ham, managed by Nuno Espirito Santo, showed more fight after the break, with Jarrod Bowen striking the side netting and dragging another effort wide.
Any hope of a comeback was ended when Haaland struck again later in the match, sealing City's fifth consecutive league win.
Liverpool edge out nine-man Tottenham to move into top five
Alexander Isak made an instant impact from the bench as Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-1 in a dramatic Premier League clash that saw the visitors finish with nine men.
Introduced at half-time by Arne Slot after Conor Bradley suffered a knock, the £125m British record signing opened the scoring in the 56th minute, finishing past Guglielmo Vicario from a Florian Wirtz assist - the German's first in the league.
Isak was fouled by Micky van de Ven as he scored, picked up an injury in the process and was unable to celebrate, eventually being replaced by Jeremie Frimpong 15 minutes later.
Hugo Ekitike doubled Liverpool's lead in the 66th minute, scoring his fifth goal in three league games after Frimpong's deflected cross, despite protests from Spurs.
Tottenham's problems deepened after Xavi Simons was sent off in the 33rd minute for serious foul play on Virgil van Dijk following a VAR review by referee John Brooks.
Richarlison pulled a goal back three minutes after coming on late, but Cristian Romero - already booked - was sent off in injury time for lashing out at Ibrahima Konate.
Liverpool held on to move up to fifth, extending their unbeaten run to six matches, while Tottenham have now won just one of their last eight.
Pep Guardiola has played down speculation about his future at Manchester City and has insisted his full focus has remained on the immediate task of facing West Ham in the Premier League.
Arne Slot has revealed that Florian Wirtz has been following a structured weight-gain programme as he continues to adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has provided a mixed fitness update ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham, with cautious optimism surrounding Dominik Szoboszlai.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has firmly dismissed speculation linking him with a potential return to Manchester City, insisting his full focus has remained on his current job at Stamford Bridge.
