By James Ducker at Etihad Stadium

He may have taken a wrecking ball to the history books this season but it was with the most delicate of touches that Erling Haaland finally demolished the Premier League scoring record. Truth be told, the Manchester City striker had not much of a look in until then but there was still an inevitability about the goal and that is part of what makes him so damn good: his patience, that unwavering belief the goal will come.

And what a landmark goal this was, No. 35 of a quite extraordinary league campaign that sweeps him past Andy Cole and Alan Shearer as the outright greatest goalscorer since English football’s great rebranding in 1992, and still with five league games to play. Victory moved City back above Arsenal at the top of the table, a point ahead with a game in hand, and just as surely as it is hard to believe the champions will squander the initiative at this stage, so it is difficult to think Haaland will not add a bunch more goals before this season is out.

He actually has the most league goals in a top flight season now since Ron Davies plundered 37 for Southampton in 1966-67 so that is doubtless the next target to topple. And would anyone be surprised if he runs Dixie Dean’s all-time English record of 63 goals in a top flight campaign close? Currently on 51, City’s goal machine needs 12 to match it.

City’s players and staff marked the occasion at the final whistle by forming a guard of honour as each took turns to slap this hulking figure as he powered his way through the throng of bodies and limbs. It made for quite the scene. To put Haaland’s feats into some context, Phil Foden’s goal late on marked the 1000th scored by City under manager Pep Guardiola and the Norwegian accounts for five per cent of them, despite having only played 45 games for the club.

Haaland is averaging a goal every 71 minutes in the Premier League this season so his latest one came pretty much bang on cue and, in doing so, calmed the lingering nerves of the manager and home supporters who grasped just how hard West Ham were making things as City nursed a delicate 1-0 lead thanks to Nathan Ake’s header.

There was just under half an hour to go when the City manager let his frustration with the crowd be known. Gesturing in an exasperated manner for the fans to raise the noise level, and help lift their team in the process, he got the response he hoped for. And Haaland the goal he craved or, rather, waited calmly to arrive.

It originated from a mistake from Danny Ings, the West Ham substitute giving the ball away to Bernardo, who redirected it quickly into the path of Jack Grealish. Grealish had been one of City’s stand-out performers all game, along with John Stones and Rodri, and the moment he released Haaland through on goal the outcome never felt in doubt.

Indeed, the sight of poor Thilo Kehrer giving fruitless chase is one with which far too many defenders have become well acquainted. As Lukasz Fabianski advanced, Haaland nonchalantly dinked the ball over the West Ham goalkeeper – a quite gorgeous touch of the ball – before wheeling away in celebration as the Etihad rose in acclaim. Sitting in that familiar yoga pose, Haaland was mobbed by team-mates. What a player. What a season. And with more treats still to come one suspects.

City fans had come, principally, in the hope (or is that expectation?) of seeing two things: their team reclaiming top spot and a record breaking night from their No. 9 so they did not leave disappointed. But West Ham made them sweat it out for a good while. Despite losing Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd to illness only hours before kick-off, which meant David Moyes was only able to name five outfield substitutes, it was hard to believe they had been forced into a late rejig.

It has been a good couple of months for Moyes, who has gradually turned West Ham’s season around, and dragged himself away from the precipice in the process, and the first 45 minutes were about as well as anyone has dealt with City and Haaland of late. Grealish and Rodri both hit a post but West Ham, by flooding the midfield and at times resembled a hardy 6-4-0, were proving a tough nut to crack. Haaland’s most notable touch in the first half was probably a headed clearance and his one glimpse of goal before that record breaking strike culminated in a fine sliding tackle from Kehrer.

Moyes’s frustration, then, at seeing his team surrender much of that hard work by conceding from a set-piece within five minutes of the restart was understandable. The free-kick, for a start, was a cheap one to concede after Flynn Downes brought down Grealish. Riyad Mahrez then flighted the free-kick over the West Ham defence and last man Angelo Ogbonna to where Ake, back in the side after injury, headed home. An unhappy Michail Antonio led the West Ham inquest.

Even if they had held out for longer, though, there is another train of thought that they may merely have been delaying the inevitable. Haaland, after all, just cannot stop scoring.

Man City 3 West Ham 0: as it happened

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10:38 PM

David Moyes speaks

We did a lot of good stuff. We did a good job in the way we set up and tried to play but to concede from a set-piece to Man City … that was gut-wrenching. They can open you up and score very good goals against you …

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.

10:33 PM

Haaland: ‘I would go crazy if I focused on breaking records’

It is a special night and special moment. I am really happy and proud. I knew about [the record]  of course but we tried to create the chances to score goals and it was not easy. We struggled a bit in the first half.

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 ou. 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.

I don’t think of records {Dixie Dean’s specifically]. I would go crazy in my head. I have to go home and play some video games and then think of Leeds. That’s my life. [Which video games?] I cannot say it’s too embarrassing.

We had chances in the first half. It’s not easy to play against 10 West Ham players in their own box. But that’s what some teams do and the important thing is the three points.

Yes [I would swap all the records for three trophies at the end of the season]. Everyone knows it’s possible but we can’t think of the FA Cup final, it’s not good for your head. We have Leeds in three days, that’s what we have to think about. You have to focus. We have nine games left and all nine games are finals.

10:24 PM

Pep Guardiola on victory and twin milestones

Every game is hard. We didn’t play bad and the second half was much better.  I am really pleased, five games left and one of the games we had in hand we used well.

We recover quick for Saturday at 3pm against Sam Allardyce.

It is unbelievable how many goals Erling has scored. So many important goals to help us win games.  He is a unique person, as a player but also the person is special. He deserved the guard of honour because it is an incredible milestone.

The goal is the moment of the pleasure, for our fans and ourselves, so 1,000 times we enjoy it. It’s not bad 1,000. A lot of goals! We keep going, we move forward.

10:19 PM

That other landmark

10:14 PM

Tunnel of love/thump

10:07 PM

Opta’s post-match stats pack

10:00 PM

Watch: Haaland’s guard of honour

09:57 PM

City back on top … with a game in hand

09:55 PM

City form a guard of honour for Haaland

All the players and staff line up to pat him pretty hard on the back. He is beaming. Thirty-five Premier League goals in 31 matches. Astounding.

09:54 PM

Full time Manchester City 3 West Ham United 0

A tale of two halves. One lapse in concentration and discipline from Ogbonna let City score from a set-piece and then they opened them up after a mistake from Ings and some poor technique in the block from Emerson.

09:52 PM

90+2 min: City 3 West Ham 0

Bernardo twinkles his toes down the left of the box and tees up Foden for a sweeping left-foot shot from six yards to make it four but Fabianski races out to block and then smother the shot.

09:50 PM

90 min: City 3 West Ham 0

Phillips ⇢ Rodri. We’ll have three minutes of stoppage time.

09:49 PM

88 min: City 3 West Ham 0

Paqueta stings Ortega’s palms with a an angled shot as he hared in from the left and the ball ricochets through to Fornals. Out comes Bernardo to block and, crucially, unlike Emerson, he didn’t turn his back so met it full on and stopped it.

09:43 PM

GOAL!

Man City 3 West Ham 0 (Foden)  West Ham have had no luck. Foden, because it was on target, scores the 1,000th City goal under Pep Guardiola with a left-foot volley from Mahrez’s corner that struck Enerson’s calf s. The left-back leapt to block the shot and diverted it past Fabianski. It was heading straight at the keeper without that touch.

09:42 PM

81 min: City 2 West Ham 0

Benrahma ⇢ Bowen. Fornals, spotting Ortega off his line, essays a 50-yard chip that had neither the accuracy or legs required. Out it squirts for a goal-kick.

09:40 PM

79 min: City 2 West Ham 0

Stones adds to the gaiety of the nation and enjoys it very much himself when he slips while attempting to shoot and slices it high and very wide.

09:39 PM

77 min: City 2 West Ham 0

Time for some shuffling of the pack:

Akanji ⇢ Ake

Foden ⇢ Alvarez.

09:38 PM

75 min: City 2 West Ham 0

Paqueta is down injured and, though the ref lets West Ham play on around their comrade, he stops the game when City have the ball much to the crowd’s disgust. The players don’t seem that fussed and go to the side for a drink.

09:37 PM

73 min: City 2 West Ham 0

Ings, perhaps disheartened by his ‘assist’ for Haaland’s goal, tries to make amends with a cross from the byline when playd in by Johnson. He looks up, anticipating Bowen’s run, and thinks he has put it on a plate fr his team-mate but Bowen fails to make the run.

09:29 PM

GOAL!

Man City 2 West Ham 0 (Haaland) It’s that man again. That’s his record-breaking 35th goal of a Premier League season, in only 31 games. Ings gives the ball away and Grealish pounces, skedaddling up the middle, forcing the West Ham midfield to turn and chase in vein. Haaland, initially to Grealish’s right, then darts between Ogbonna and Kehrer, tacking left and Grealish rolls him in. Out comes Fabianski and Haaland dinks it over him with the sand wedge of his left foot. Insouciance exemplified. He is absolutely lethal. Eat your heart out Hot Shot Hamish.

09:28 PM

69 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Alvarez wraps his right instep around a shot from 25 yards. It curves artfully around Ogbonna but lacks the power to keep going, dipping so that Fabianski can grab it low to his left.

09:26 PM

67 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Grealish trips over Johnson’s heels and buys himself a free-kick on the left, parallel with the penalty spot. Alvarez floats it deep and out for a goalkick.

Ings ⇢ Antonio.

West Ham’s centre-forward has played very well and given Dias plenty of trouble. No wonder he looks miffed to be hooked so early.

09:23 PM

65 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Johnson ⇢ the hamstrung Coufal.

09:23 PM

64 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Haaland scoops a right-foot cross straight down Fabianski’s throat.

09:21 PM

63 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Antonio uses his strength and control to hold the ball up on the left of the box and then roll Paqueta down the side. He tries to stand up a cross that Walker turns behind. Corner. Rodri heads it behind and Ortega punches its sequel away.

09:20 PM

61 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Coufal has twanged his hamstring and has to go off.

09:19 PM

59 min: City 1 West Ham 0

City have an even better shout for a penalty from the corner when Ogbonna jumps into Stones, misses the ball and knees him in the chest. Nothing doing again.

09:18 PM

57 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Kehrer slides in with a risky tackle to stop Haaland as he was about to shoot with his left from 12 yards. It looked to me that he took his foot first and then the ball but the referee and VAR didn’t.

09:14 PM

54 min: City 1 West Ham 0

City have raised the tempo of their passing and found a way to open up the defensive channels. But Cresswell and Fabianski stop Haaland’s dart down the left, herding him away from goal and then blocking his shot as he turned.

09:12 PM

52 min: City 1 West Ham 0

Alvarez, who has been limping on and off for much of the game,runs out of space when played into the box down the left as he tries to cut back on his right.

09:08 PM

GOAL!

Man City 1 West Ham 0 (Ake)  Back-post bullet header from the free-kick bent in from the left by Mahrez. West Ham had held a high line but for a reason that isn’t logical, Ogbonna drops back at the last moment, playing everyone onside. Gary Neville thinks he has won so many headers he may have thought he was invincible and could go back and win that one too.

09:08 PM

48 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Antonio does hurl it into the area but Emerson’s flick on is gobbled up and City counter with Haaland galloping down the middle before tapping it to Grealish who is felled by Downes late lunge, straight between him and the ball. Yellow card.

09:06 PM

47 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Foden, Lewis and Gundogan are all warming up for City. West Ham have a pair of throws up their left inside City’s half. Cresswell  clutches then flexes his hamstring after earning the second of them. Antonio comes over to trebuchet it into the box.

09:04 PM

46 min: City 0 West Ham 0

No changes despite the consensus among the pundits being in favour of Gundogan’s introduction for Alvarez to quicken the midfield passing.

08:49 PM

Half-time: City 0 West Ham 0

Tactically spot on from West Ham who have maintained the concentration and positional discipline to hold City at bay. The home side are growing more impatient and frustrated by the minute. The big surprise is that Guardiola hasn’t tweaked anything to counter Moyes’s containment strategy. But he has enough options and weapons on his bench to shake things up.

08:46 PM

44 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Haaland goes down in the box after offloading to Grealish and carrying on his run into the box for the return. Downes did touch him with his arm but without the force to floor Haaland. The touch was outside the box in any case.

08:44 PM

42 min: City 0 West Ham 0

West Ham free-kick on halfway. Antonio tells Cresswell to arrow it on to his head as he stalks the 18-yard line. Antonio beats Dias in the air and flicks it on. Fornals is first too it and rockets a right-foot volley from outside the box into orbit.

08:42 PM

40 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Moyes is pictured writing notes. Guardiola almost paws at the turf. West Ham are closing the channels with the three forward players, on the half turn, watchfully blocking the short passing lanes when Stones or Rodri try to pass through them.

08:39 PM

38 min: City 0 West Ham 0

City free-kick on the left that Mahrez fizzes into the box. West Ham miss two chances to clear and it falls to Rodri whose shot is blocked from close range by Cresswell.

08:38 PM

36 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Diligent defensive work from Kehrer stops Mahrez finding Haaland at the price of a corner. City send that one deep to Rodri who heads it loopily back across goal and Stones, having to apply all the power on it himself, messes up his angle at the apex of his leap, flicking his effort over.

08:35 PM

34 min: City 0 West Ham 0

That’s more like the City of the past eight weeks. A slick one-two between Rodri and Haaland sends Rodri down the inside-left channel and into the box but his right-foot whipped shot, as he slid, cannons off the right post and across the goal-line to eventual safety. The ref’s watch does not ping. No goal.

08:33 PM

32 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Grealish darts in from the left touchline on to his right and hammers a shot that Fabianski seems to tip on to the foot of the right post. City want a corner, which it should have been, but the ref does Fabianski a favour and a disservice by giving him a goal-kick.

08:32 PM

30 min: City 0 West Ham 0

West Ham catch Ake napping at a throw and Bowen skitters in along the byline but with Emerson ideally placed for the cut back, he shoots from an impossible angle with the outside of his boot. Ortega blocks with his feet.

08:30 PM

28 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Gary Neville says that he thinks City are too compact in the 3-2-4-1 and that Stones should drop back and Walker and Ake push up to stop Downes and Paqueta mopping up everything in central midfield.

08:29 PM

26 min: City 0 West Ham 0

City have decided that West Ham’s vulnerability is the channel between Kehrer and Coufal and Alvarez again picks out Grealish. The former Villa captain apes one of his predecessors in that role with a Mersonesque outside of the right boot cross to the far post that parts Mahrez’s hair and found Haaland too tight to the byline beyond the far post to get his headed effort on target.

08:25 PM

24 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Grealish is fed down the left and he switches back on to his right, naturally, and looks to play an inswinging cross with his right for Haaland or Stones but Ogbonna reads its flight perfectly and nods it behind. Ogbonna heads Mahrez’s corner away, too.

08:23 PM

22 min: City 0 West Ham 0

City fans are trying to rouse their team with cries of ‘C’mon City!’ but so far they have lacked their usual poise and precision.

08:22 PM

20 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Guardiola is not happy at all as, first, an Alvarez pass squirts into touch and then, moments later, the World Cup winner dallies over a shot and the ball is nicked off his toe.

08:21 PM

18 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Dias is rattled by Antonio and shoves him over after the two battle for a header. Antonio, by contrast, is relishing the physical contest.

08:18 PM

16 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Looking at the replay Alvarez might have been better to have ignored Haaland’s call for a pass and had a shot himself.

08:17 PM

15 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Haaland clears the cross at the edge of the box but West Ham win the second ball and keep probing until a threaded pass is picked off and City break with Alvarez and Haaland motoring down the centre-left. But Cresswell comes across from the West Ham left to cut out Alvarez’s pass and guide it back to Fabianski.

08:14 PM

13 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Now Walker slides in late to take Emerson’s legs away as he shaped to cross. West Ham free-kick on the byline, about six yards in from the corner flag.

08:13 PM

11 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Dias escapes a booking 35 yards out when he wipes out Antonio with a late sliding tackle after the ball had gone. Not that he hit him with any force but it was late and it did stop him bombing down the wing.

08:12 PM

9 min: City 0 West Ham 0

City try to work a replica of Odegaard’s two goals for Arsenal last night, forming triangles down the left before squaring the ball across the 18-yard line for Mahrez to sweep a shot with his left. Fabianski makes a good save and West Ham again see off the corner. Guardiola isn’t happy with City’s tempo.

08:10 PM

7 min: City 0 West Ham 0

All City so far but West Ham are playing with patience and discipline to hold their shape, seeing off a City corner, after good work from Grealish put Bernardo down the inside-left. Coufal tracked him and made the intervention.

08:07 PM

5 min: City 0 West Ham 0

Grealish skips in from the left, dribbling with his right foot only, knocking it ahead with a couple of taps until tackled by Coufal who, 30 seconds later, heads Walker’s diagonal back upfield. Walker is trying to get Grealish in behind the right wing-back with Ake on the underlap.

08:05 PM

4 min: City 0 West Ham 0

West Ham are trying a high press but Stones, playing alongside Rodri in this innovative 3-2-4-1 system, is not being impeded in his pivotal role. They’ve dropped off now in any case.

08:03 PM

3 min City 0 West Ham 0

Dias sends the ball up the left and Bernardo works it to Alvarez who decides to try to copy his Fulham strike with a shot from 25 yards that lacks the power to beat Fabianski. The Hammers’ keeper dives to his right to smother.

08:02 PM

1 min City 0 West Ham 0

West Ham kick off, attacking from right to left and knock it long. Ruben Dias picks it up. I’m sure Ruben Dias was captain last season but now seems to be behind Kyle Walker who is wearing the armband today.

08:00 PM

Guardiola summons Rodri and Haaland over

And if there was any suspicion that urgency was lacking … he demolishes it with some rather frantic last minute advice, complete with gestures and furrowed brow.

07:57 PM

The teams are in the tunnel

Sky’s David Jones wonders whether a lack of excitement in the crowd before kick-off is symptomatic of complacency. They weren’t at their best against Fulham but even so …

Both sides are in their home shorts. West Ham have claret shorts rather than the usual sky blue for obvious reasons.

07:34 PM

Stefan Ortega makes his Premier League debut today

The 30-year-old German, signed from Armenia Bielfeld in the summer, has made 10 cup appearances for City and has made 67 Bundesliga starts.

07:31 PM

David Moyes’s turn in front of the microphone

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 . There’s nothing we can do about it. 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 and still won I wouldn’t be complaining!

Anything out of this game would be a bonus.

07:21 PM

Pep Guardiola talks to Sky

Ederson needs to rest a little bit. We have a lot of games and to rest is good. Kevin [De Bruyne] is feeling better but he’s not here. We hope he will be back for the weekend.  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.

Jack Grealish has stepped up compared to last season. Last year he was shy, he could not believe he was here. [It shows] 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.I have 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 for six games, tough games.

07:10 PM

West Ham name only seven subs

To emphasise the gulf in resources or because of late withdrawals? David Moyes reports that three players have been ruled out by illness: Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd

07:09 PM

Your teams in the old familiar format

Man City  Ortega; Walker, Dias, Stones, Ake; Rodri; Mahrez, Alvarez, Bernardo, Grealish; Haaland.

Substitutes  Ederson, Phillips, Gundogan, Laporte, Gomez, Akanji, Perrone, Foden, Lewis. 

West Ham  Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Coufal, Downes; Lucas Paqueta, Emerson; Bowen, Fornals; Antonio. Substitutes Areola, Johnson, Lanzini, Cornet, Ings, Benrahma, Anang.

Referee John Brooks (Leicestershire).

07:02 PM

No Rice for West Ham

07:01 PM

No Ederson or De Bruyne for City

04:02 PM

Groin strains

David Moyes was full of praise for the West Ham board in his pre-match press conference this week, crediting them for bringing stability to the club and avoiding the trigger-happy tendencies of their counterparts.

“Through my career,” he said, “I’ve been really fortunate that I’ve had really good chairmen and men with distinction who don’t buckle when the call comes. “It’s a big part of the game now that managers are losing their jobs much quicker now.

“If you are going to keep chopping and changing, I wouldn’t be sure it’s the right thing for football clubs for continuity, stability, the growth you are trying to get. Maybe the clubs now have got too much money and they can afford to keep changing direction all the time.”

Asked whether he was daunted by the prospect of taking on City at the Etihad, a place where they have won only once and against a side that has won 13 and drawn one of its last 14 matches in all competitions, Moyes said: “We’ve been to the Etihad a lot and it’s been hard to win, but I’ve got to say, we’ve given them some really good games when we’ve played them.”

Manchester City will give a late fitness test to Kevin De Bruyne while Nathan Ake is much closer to a return after missing the victory over Arsenal. Kurt Zouma and Gianluca Scamacca have been ruled out by West Ham United.

03:42 PM

Preview: Haaland has ‘the Messi mentality’

By James Ducker

Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland was convinced he would smash scoring records with Manchester City this season as he hailed the Norway striker’s “Messi mentality”.

Haaland became the first English top flight player to reach 50 goals in a single campaign since Tom ‘Pongo’ Waring in 1931 after scoring in City’s 2-1 win over Fulham on Sunday.

And the 22-year-old will become the Premier League’s all-time top scorer if he finds the net tonight.

Haaland’s penalty against Fulham took him to 34 league goals following his £51 million move from Borussia Dortmund last summer and saw him match the record set by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer for Newcastle and Blackburn respectively.

Guardiola would not rule out Haaland eclipsing Dixie Dean’s English record of 63 goals in a season and claimed the only person probably unsurprised by the Norwegian’s scoring feats is the player himself.

“It’s a surprise for all of us, maybe not for him because he’s done it in a different league,” the City manager said. “I know him a bit and he is so competitive and positive in his mindset, that’s why [it is not a surprise to him].

City have six more games to play in the league and can take another significant step towards a fifth title in six years with victory over West Ham. Guardiola’s side will have 10 more games to play this season should they overcome Real Madrid to reach the Champions League final and keep their treble dream alive.

Guardiola said Haaland’s hunger for goals was comparable with Lionel Messi but admitted the challenge for the City striker is to maintain this phenomenal output – something he believes is well within his reach given his determination to improve.

“In terms of goals and mentality, yeah,” Guardiola said when asked if he could see similarities between Haaland and Messi’s thirst to score. “But Messi has done it every season in the last 10, 15 seasons. But Erling, since he started, and at Salzburg and Dortmund, he has got to the same level in terms of goals.

“It’s almost every game he scores a goal. One or two every game. He had the chances to do it but Messi is the most complete player I have seen in terms of vision, dribbles, passes, competitiveness – no one can compare with Messi. It [comparisons] will not help Erling.”

“I think he has the desire to get better as a player, as long as he has it he can do it. I think with his first control he can improve, it’s nice to have that feeling.”

Source:The Telegraph