West Ham 1-3 Man City: Erling Haaland scores ANOTHER hat-trick

Turnovers in midfield and hurtling back 70 yards to stop counter attacks. Maybe Erling Haaland is becoming the complete Pep Guardiola player after all. Or what his critics expect a Pep Guardiola player to look like, anyway.

This was one of his finest evenings in a Manchester City shirt. Not particularly because of the goals - he scores whenever, wherever – but because of a feel, a look. For a while, the most phenomenal marksman in world football had the run of east London.

Haaland has revealed that he’s never felt fitter, which had jarred with complaints of muscular fatigue behind the scenes just weeks ago, and here came some more evidence. A second hat-trick in eight days. Not many people have been asking if he fits into a Guardiola team recently. Funny, that.

There were moments City do not always see from the Norwegian, though. Sprightly racing into midfield to win possession, sparking a sharp counter that Jack Grealish might have finished. Then a sprint with Michail Antonio, on the back of a disorganised City corner, to thwart West Ham hurting them on the break, sticking his opposing No 9 into touch. He was almost the last man.

Do these arrive without the confidence that derives from the purity of two first-half finishes which set him clear of any of his peers? Possibly not; the two facets of his performance are likely to go together.

All three goals, in minutes 10, 30 and 83, were the result of a precise first touch. Pushed out in front of him to inflict maximum damage. The first, when set free between centre halves by Bernardo Silva, was finessed into Alphonese Areola’s far corner. The second, coming from an unselfish Rico Lewis square pass, rocketed into the roof of West Ham’s net with an unstoppable devastation. The third, to seal the points, impudently dinked.

Seven goals in three Premier League matches now. The long summer evidently did him some good. But then he was scoring plenty last year and still had fairly persistent question marks over his displays so the difference comes with how those numbers are earned, the crispness and certainty of it all, and what he does elsewhere on the pitch.

The instinctive swipe from outside the box to secure his hat-trick last week against Ipswich Town - only his fifth from further than 18 yards for City - spoke to somebody with renewed arrogance. The running against West Ham spoke to somebody with renewed vigour. When he’s receiving passes into the front, he’s not coming so short as to give himself more room to manoeuvre. The things being worked on are definitely working.

And it undoubtedly provokes an extra pep in those behind him. City definitely needed to grind against West Ham – and at times, looked like mirroring Arsenal in dropping points - yet when they were in control, which was for large parts, it appeared as though only one team were here.

West Ham did receive encouragement, some from themselves and some from City. A Ruben Dias own goal sandwiched itself between Haaland’s first-half efforts, an equaliser on 19 minutes that owed much to Mateo Kovacic jumping to win the ball back with too much abandon.

Kovacic has admitted that an eagerness to get involved higher up the pitch does hamper him when deputising for Rodri and that was clear when Lucas Paqueta – who would have been wearing City’s 1999 nostalgia away strip had it not been for an FA investigation – slipped Jarrod Bowen down the right and his cross deflected in off Dias.

West Ham unsettled City early on and then for around 20 minutes after half time. Mohammed Kudus struck a post, as a rejuvenated Kevin De Bruyne had done earlier, and Bowen was causing Josko Gvardiol all manner of problems down the home right.

Julen Lopetegui has hit upon something over a summer of strong recruitment and the high-octane nature of their fresh ideas should see teams leaving this place bewildered. Chelsea and Manchester United are coming here over the next two months and will not be relishing the prospect.

The visiting section went a touch quieter. Guardiola paid Lopetegui a compliment as West Ham galloped through vacant midfield areas by sacrificing Jeremy Doku for Ilkay Gundogan in a bid to wrestle back control. In giving Kovacic extra support, seeing Silva slow the game out wide, City sought to just calm things down.

Lukasz Fabianski, on at the break for Areola, had saved from Silva while Dias might have connected at the back post. Max Kilman headed a Bowen corner wide. Tomas Soucek fumbled within sight of an equaliser. Noel Gallagher, taking time out from counting his money, squirmed in the posh seats. Guardiola flung his limbs in agitation.

They needn’t have worried. Seven minutes to go and Haaland was clean through again. With a Matheus Nunes pass under his spell, the eyes deadened and Fabianski could do nothing but surrender to the chip over his flailing body. While City might not be quite at their best yet, the main fella leading them certainly is.