Man City come from behind to beat West Ham

Manchester City extended their flawless beginning to the 2023-24 Premier League season with a 3-1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium.

City started strongly, and in the sixth minute they nearly scored, with four rapid attempts in succession after Phil Foden's corner. 

Rodrigo's header was excellently saved by Alphonse Areola, his follow-up shot was blocked, and Tomas Soucek cleared a third attempt off the line and Ruben Dias' header was also cleared by the West Ham keeper.

Summer signings Jerermy Doku and Josko Gvardiol then combined to create a chance for Erling Haaland, but somehow the Norwegian missed the target.

A loose touch from Doku started a quick counter-attack initiated by Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse escaped his marker and headed home a perfect cross from Vladimir Coufal, surprising Pep Guardiola's side, who had controlled possession near West Ham's box for most of the first half.

Despite going behind, the game's dynamic remained unchanged, and Doku created another significant chance with skillful wing play, delivering a low cross to Haaland at the back post, but this time, Nayef Aguerd cleared his effort off the line.

However, within a minute after the restart, Doku scored his first goal for City as he embarked on an excellent run, causing the Hammers' defenders to back off, and then curled a lovely shot inside the far post.

After that, the visitors had plenty of chances to take the lead, with Foden having a chance, Julian Alvarez hit the inside of the post with a 25-yard free-kick, and an impressive Haaland volley was thwarted by Areola.

West Ham also posed a threat, but Ederson made two tremendous saves to keep them at bay, thwarting Michail Antonio's break and turning away Kurt Zouma's header.

With 15 minutes to play, the ball fell to Alvarez on the edge of the area, and he delicately scooped it over the Hammers' defense for Bernardo Silva to finish with a looping shot.

Haaland was denied again by Areola after a brilliant run and cross from captain Kyle Walker, but he eventually scored City's third goal with a powerful strike in the 86th minute.

With this result, Manchester City are back on top of the Premier League as they will turn their focus to the Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday. 

In the meantime, West Ham is gearing up for their own European journey as they commence their Europa League group stage campaign on Thursday, welcoming Serbia's Backa Topola.