Manchester City crush West Ham 4-1, Haaland bags double

Manchester: Manchester City thrashed West Ham United 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday for their first back-to-back wins since October thanks to two goals from Erling Haaland and one of their best all-around performances in weeks.

The reigning champions are sixth in the table on 34 points, 11 behind leaders Liverpool who have two games in hand. The Hammers, who were coming off a 5-0 rout by Liverpool six days earlier, are 13th with 23 points.

City got on the scoresheet in the 10th minute when United defender Vladimir Coufal deflected Savinho's angled shot into the far corner. Haaland bagged his first in the 42nd minute when Savinho whipped in a long cross that the big Norwegian leapt sideways to head in.

Haaland notched his second shortly after the break when Savinho sent a through ball that the 24-year-old nonchalantly chipped over goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. Phil Foden padded City's lead in the 58th minute before Niclas Fullkrug pulled a late goal back for the Hammers, but the game was already well out of reach.