On the morning of January 5th, Beijing time, a match in the 20th round of the Premier League was held, with Manchester City hosting West Ham United at home. In the first half, Manchester City unleashed their firepower, with Savigno assisting Haaland to score and also causing Cao Far to score an own goal; in the second half, Savigno assisted Haaland again to score, Foden expanded the lead, and Firkruge pulled one back. Ultimately, Manchester City defeated West Ham United 4-1, achieving their first two consecutive victories in over two months.
In the past two months, Manchester City's performance has been poor, with 2 wins, 3 draws, and 9 losses in 14 matches across all competitions, especially in the Premier League where they have 2 wins, 1 draw, and 6 losses in 9 rounds, causing their ranking to plummet. Not only were they surpassed by more than ten points by Liverpool, but they also fell out of the top five, making it impossible for them to defend their title this season.
In the previous round, Manchester City won 2-0 away against Leicester City, ending their streak of five winless matches. This round, they returned home to face West Ham United, who suffered a 0-5 defeat at home to Liverpool in the previous round.
After the game started, Manchester City's defense faced frequent dangers as West Ham United launched fierce attacks. In the 7th minute, West Ham United broke through Manchester City's left flank, with Kudus shooting inside the penalty area and hitting the side netting. Then in the 8th minute, Firkruge, unmarked, pushed his shot wide, missing a golden opportunity.
After West Ham United's continuous attacks failed to yield results, Manchester City took the lead:
In the 9th minute, Savigno dribbled from the left flank into the penalty area and shot with his left foot, the ball hit Cao Far and deflected into the net, giving Manchester City a 1-0 lead.
Facing West Ham United's multiple attacks, Manchester City continued to protect their goal while creating counter-attack threats.
In the 32nd minute, Manchester City made a direct pass in the frontcourt, Haaland crossed in the penalty area, and B seat rushed up to shoot directly, but was blocked, missing the chance to expand their lead.
In the 42nd minute, Manchester City quickly passed in the midfield, Savigno dribbled past the defender and crossed to the front of the goal, Haaland leapt high and headed the ball in, expanding Manchester City's lead to 2-0.
This was Haaland's second consecutive league goal, breaking his three-game scoring drought against Leicester City in the previous game, and after scoring against West Ham United, he broke his four-game home scoring drought.
Savigno, who assisted Haaland, has been involved in Manchester City's last four Premier League goals, contributing one goal, two assists, and one own goal.
At halftime, Manchester City temporarily led West Ham United 2-0. According to statistics, Manchester City had a possession rate of 58%, six shots with four on target resulting in two goals, a very high efficiency. West Ham United had seven shots with none on target and missed one excellent opportunity.
Returning to the field in the second half, Manchester City's offense continued to be unstoppable, making it difficult for West Ham United to defend.
In the 55th minute, Savigno launched a counterattack, then made a direct pass to the middle of the penalty area, Haaland calmly chipped the ball into the net for a single goal, helping Manchester City maintain their 3-0 lead.
According to statistics, Haaland has scored nine goals in six matches against West Ham United, making them his highest-scoring opponent in the Premier League. He has also scored twice in a single Premier League match for the 20th time in his career, doing so in 168 fewer matches than Drogba.
In the 58th minute, Manchester City scored again to make it 4-0: Kudus made a backpass error, De Bruyne intercepted the ball and crossed into the penalty area, Foden followed up to push the ball into the net.
In just 48 minutes, Manchester City scored four consecutive goals, taking a 4-0 lead, effectively ending the suspense of the match. Guardiola's team has finally recovered.
In the 70th minute, Soucek provided an assist, and Firkruge scored with a low shot to help West Ham United pull one back to make it 1-4.
In the 83rd minute, Haaland was substituted early, signaling that Manchester City had already secured victory. They ultimately locked in a 4-1 victory, achieving their sixth consecutive victory against West Ham United and their eighth consecutive home victory.