Haaland fires City up to 2nd in EPL with Bournemouth victory, Nuno celebrates first win as West Ham boss

Erling Haaland delivered another masterclass in ruthless finishing with two goals on Sunday as Manchester City beat high-flying Bournemouth 3-1 and climbed into second place in the English Premier League (EPL).

The big Norwegian struck twice on the break in the first half at Etihad Stadium, moving Pep Guardiola’s side six points behind leaders Arsenal with 19 points, while Bournemouth fell to fourth in the table on 18 points.

Haaland, who tops the Premier League scoring chart with 13 goals in 10 games, broke the deadlock in the 17th minute, heading the ball forward from just past the halfway line and then barrelling down on goal before coolly slotting home past Djordje Petrovic.

Bournemouth hit back through Tyler Adams, who stabbed the ball in from a corner in the 25th minute. But the visitors were not level for long as Haaland restored City’s lead eight minutes later, beating the Bournemtouh defence before going around Petrovic to slot home from a tight angle. Nico O’Reilly struck from just inside the box to add a third for City in the 60th minute.

Nuno ecstatic: Nuno Espirito Santo celebrated his first win as West Ham manager on Sunday as his spirited team battled from behind to beat Newcastle 3-1 at the London Stadium.

The Hammers remain in the relegation zone after just their second Premier League win of the season but are now just three points behind 17th-placed Burnley, whom they play next week.

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle took the lead courtesy of a fine early strike from Jacob Murphy but Lucas Paqueta levelled and an own goal from the unfortunate Sven Botman gave the home team the advantage at half-time.

Howe made wholesale changes at the break to revitalise his off-colour side and Newcastle dominated possession in the early stages, pinning West Ham back.

But the visitors were blunt in attack and Tomas Soucek made sure of all three points in the closing moments. Nuno was appointed West Ham boss in late September, just over two weeks after he was sacked by Nottingham Forest, who are also in the drop zone. But the Portuguese has had to be patient in waiting for his first win.

Murphy put Newcastle ahead in the fourth minute, fizzing a shot from the edge of the area just 26 seconds after Jarrod Bowen’s shot clattered off the post at the other end.

Referee Robert Jones awarded West Ham a penalty six minutes later, ruling that Bowen had been brought down by Malick Thiaw, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review as Thiaw had touched the ball.

The Hammers were deservedly level in the 35th minute when Paqueta hammered a sweet strike from outside the box past the sprawling Nick Pope.

And moments before half-time they were in front when a low cross from defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sliced into his own net by Botman, whose attempted interception left Pope stranded.

Howe brought Fabian Schar, William Osula and Jacob Ramsey on for Emil Krafth, Nick Woltemade and Anthony Gordon at half-time.

The visitors dominated possession but Pope was called into action twice in quick succession at the other end as West Ham threatened a third goal.

Hammers midfielder Freddie Potts had the ball in the net with just over 20 minutes remaining but the goal was ruled out for off-side.

Newcastle continued to probe but could not find an equaliser and Soucek had the last laugh.

It is West Ham’s first win at home in the Premier League since February while defeat leaves Newcastle 13th in the Premier League table

Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said fortune finally swung his team’s way in their 2-0 victory over Aston Villa that ended a woeful four-game Premier League losing streak that had piled pressure on the Reds. Mohamed Salah became the third player in Liverpool history to score 250 goals when he struck in first-half injury time, and Ryan Gravenberch scored in the second half after missing three games with an ankle injury in only their second win in eight matches across all competitions.

“The margins are small every single game - today after five minutes they (Morgan Rogers) hit the post,” Slot told BBC Match of the Day. “We didn’t concede a set piece, which was helpful, but also we got a bit lucky, which hasn’t happened recently. Our second goal was a deflection.”

Agencies