Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Which means it’s us. Thank you all for your company and comments – enjoy the rest of your weekend. Irene. Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s match report: Looking back at Haaland’s second goal, what I really like about it is the way he measures his stride, lengthening it to get clear and then shortening it to line up the feet for the finish. He knows what to do. And from earlier today: It also continues: That concludes Prem’s installment for the weekend and proves that Manchester City are good at football. Without playing well, they made West Ham look ordinary, which they are not at all, and I can’t wait to see how they integrate Scamacca, who put himself in when he came on. I was, however, disappointed with Rice and Sucek, who couldn’t really get into the game, but I doubt I’ll be saying that in a few weeks.
Final: West Ham United 0-2 Manchester City
Erling Haaland arrived, but the real difference here was his team’s passing. It was too good for West Ham, who are still not fit enough to compete – especially in the heat – and even at this ridiculously early stage, it’s hard to see how City won’t retain the title.
90+2 mins Coventry and Downes, making his debut, replace Fornals and Bowen. 90+1 min Alvarez plays Rice outside the box, runs down the right and takes a shot, beating Zouma on the counter. It takes a set to regain its bearings. 90 minutes Three minutes will be added. 90 min Rice cuts through midfield and slides a ball down the right for Skamaka, so Cancelo steps up, catches and steals possession. 88 mins Triple change for City, Phillips, Mahrez and Palmer replacing Foden, De Bruyne and Rodri. Guardiola seems to have options. 86 mins “I think a good way to contextualize the idea of a Moyes sweet spot is to look for Moyes equivalents,” emails Zack Gomperts-Mitchelson. “They are very good managers who nevertheless lack something either in terms of their tactics, their charisma or their vision of the game which means there is a ceiling, as far as the club is concerned, for their talents. There is a great example, it is the Spaniard David Moyes himself: Unai Emery. Great manager, great results, real silverware on the shelf and he’ll never get a big job again. In fact, he would be crazy and a club board would be crazy to try. There is something about him, it works at Villarreal, just not at Arsenal and PSG. Same goes for Scotland’s Unai Emery, send him to United today, he’s out in six months. I think the reason comes down to imagination. These types of managers produce teams that are mechanically efficient at their best, but lack a more holistic vision of the game, there’s no big idea and it’s becoming increasingly clear that at the rarefied level in the elite of the elite you might need one. Unless you’re at Real Madrid, in which case you need some other intangible quality neither. Anyway! Haaland looks good. Quelle Surprise.” Yes, that sounds reasonable. I don’t think you necessarily need a big idea, but you have to be great at something – Klopp has a force of personality and an eye for a player, Guardiola has vision and vision and so on. 85 min Benrahma crosses wide from the left and Rodry, getting back into the danger zone, fires a superb clearance. 83 mins Guardiola football isn’t my favorite football to watch, but it’s the hardest football to beat, by far. How can you win a game with 30% possession, half of it in your own half? West Ham had a few chances today but failed to press, meaning to beat City you have to be near perfect. 81 min “I just wanted to get into the eternal debate about VAR,” chimes in Alexaandre. “I really agree with your earlier observation that the laws leave a lot of room for interpretation, explaining the inconsistencies. The infuriating thing about VAR is that it actually exacerbates the issue by first having it decide whether or not to get involved and then bringing the referee’s interpretation into play. In other words, where before refereeing inconsistencies were only due to different referee interpretation of similar situations, now we have the double inconsistency of referee interpretation PLUS VAR interpretation. That’s the stupid thing. I understand it was done to reduce the number of VAR stoppages, but it’s ridiculous. The VAR should get involved as soon as it disagrees with the referee’s decision, because this is the clear sign that a review is warranted. Sorry for another rant on the subject, and happy ending to the game.” I think we got VAR because players, managers, supporters and rights holders were constantly arguing about mistakes, often hiding the line “…and with so much money”. Personally, I’ve always hated it because the right decisions have nothing to do with why I love the game – while the speed of it, along with losing my mind when my team scores, are huge parts of what makes it special for me . I’m not happy to sacrifice those to go from 96% correct calls to 98% correct calls, which was roughly the intention if I remember correctly. Updated at 18.21 BST 79 min Haaland’s debut was not unlike Ruud van Nistelrooy’s debut for Man United against Fulham – two different goals, linked by the overall expertise with which they were scored. 78 mins Two changes for City, Bernardo and Alvarez in place of Gundogan and Haaland. 78 min De Bruyne, who has been quietly excellent, finds Grealish, who cuts inside and fires a low shot that goes just wide of the near post. 76 min Grealish wanders the ball inside left and finds Gundogan near the line, but the full-back’s pull blazes across the face with no one to latch on to. What City need is a centre-forward. They would be some team if they had it. Updated 18.08 BST 74 mins “Just so you know,” replies JR, “in that foul by Cancelo on Bowen (which probably wasn’t even a foul) the yellow card given to Cancelo wasn’t actually for the foul itself. When Cancelo looked at the assistant referee and then used his thumb and forefinger on each hand to form circles and then put the resulting circles over his eyes to make the universal “glasses” gesture to imply that the assistant referee has poor eyesight. “ Imagine having to write that on your report and admit you couldn’t accept it. 73 min Coufal curls in a decent cross and this time Scamacca is there, heading down… but Ederson saves, then the flag goes up. Ake and Dias saw this coming so they went up in plenty of time. 72 mins “The NFL salary cap is more about making sure the owners make money than it is about increasing the popularity of the game,” says Scott Wedel. “Meanwhile, the NBA and MLB allow teams to go over the salary cap and pay the luxury tax. The Dodgers have just as dominant a roster as City.” Oh, I agree – redistribution is about keeping money flowing, not about keeping things fair. But it’s the main reason you rarely see the super bowl being retained. 70 min City open up now, Grealish slows down Koufal, drags him down and rises to cross for Haaland, who heads high at the near post. 69 mins “While I agree that referees can interpret situations differently,” replies Keith Sanderson, “the particular incident in the United v Brighton match certainly could not have been interpreted as anything other than a foul. There was absolutely no excuse for ignoring such a potentially game-changing decision. How might it relate to how laws are made? I fell in love with the game over 50 years ago, so I’ve seen a lot, but by all means you can train me.” I can’t tell you what I care about, but I can’t be bothered with refereeing. I guess Welbeck didn’t get a penalty because from one corner, the contact looked shoulder to shoulder and the ball was in play distance. 67 min The post-match fuss will be for Haaland and fair enough. But what should not be overlooked is the perfection of the two assists. Gundogan’s pass was weighted to perfection and so was De Bruyne – who also had to guide it between the various defenders between him and his team-mate. 67 minutes Drinks. West Ham could do with a tough one.
TARGET! West Ham United 0-2 Manchester City
This is so easy, yet so difficult. Grealish finds Rodri who finds De Bruyne… and he slips a lovely ball back, Haaland pounces on it, opens up his body and drills past Areloa and into the far corner. He knows where the target is, that lad. He shoots and scores his second. Photo: Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images Erling Braut Haaland celebrates his second goal with Phil Foden and Joao Cancelo Photo: Tony Obrien/Reuters Updated at 18.10 BST 63 mins And now West Ham come in, Bowen lifts a terrific cross and Skamaka steps up! But he can’t introduce the eyebrow to the ball then, beyond the back post, Benrahma can’t guide his shot on goal. 62 min Here comes City looking for a second, Foden drops down the right and crosses low … with Haaland sliding the T-1000 on a sled. But that way, when he misses, he really gets into Gundogan’s way and because he sees the ball late, he can only get one shot out. 62 min Rodri is controlling the tempo of this match. I remember the first time I saw him, I think for Spain against Wales, and then you could see he was useful. But his improvement over the last year has been extraordinary. 61 mins More possession for City. 58 min “With the addition of Haaland there will be few teams who can even compete with City,” says David Keech. “Third title in a row is locked up even after only one half of football. What money emulating Bayern Munich and winning 11 in a row, with Bayern already a lock to win 12…
