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Erling Haaland hits two goals as Man City cruise past West Ham, top league
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Erling Haaland scored a brace and made another as Manchester City underlined their growing title credentials with a comfortable 3-0 victory over West Ham.
The prolific Norwegian was on target after just five minutes of a one-sided encounter at the Etihad Stadium, before teeing up Tijjani Reijnders and adding another in the second half.
Haaland was inches away from completing a hat-trick in stoppage time.
Victory for Pep Guardiola’s side, their fifth in succession in the Premier League, put pressure firmly on Arsenal at the top end of the table.
The Hammers, by contrast, will spend Christmas in the relegation zone after a lacklustre display that extended their winless streak to six.
It was not until the second half that the visitors began to ask questions of their hosts, but any prospect of a fightback was snuffed out by Haaland’s second, which took his tally for club and country this season to 38.
City looked focused from the outset and their dominance of possession brought early reward for Haaland.
They moved the ball down the left with Nico González playing Phil Foden into the box before the England midfielder pulled back invitingly for Haaland.
The Norwegian’s first-time right-foot shot was blocked by Alphonse Areola but he made no mistake at the second attempt as he thumped home with his left foot.
Haaland could have doubled his tally within moments as Rayan Cherki delivered a cross at a perfect height but he surprisingly headed wide.
City were in complete control and were content to play patiently and wait for openings.
Aside from a Jarrod Bowen cross that ran through the box, West Ham offered little and it came as no surprise when City added to their lead.
Cherki beat Mateus Fernandes to the ball and wriggled into the box to feed Haaland, who had no room to shoot himself but laid off for Reijnders.
The Dutchman, who had drawn a save from Areola with a fierce shot three minutes earlier, smashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
West Ham showed greater energy after the break and went close after Crysencio Summerville won possession on the left and crossed from the byline.
Spain are the latest team to confirm their place in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
The European champions thrashed Austria 3-0 in their Round of 32 clash on Thursday evening.
It was a display of complete dominance by Luis de la Fuente’s men, as they lived up to their pre-tournament billing as favourites.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for Spain in the first half, before Pedro Porro doubled their advantage in the 66th minute.
Oyarzabal continued his fine scoring form with a second late on.
They will now face the winner of Portugal.
Other teams confirmed in the last 16 are: USA, England, Belgium, France, Brazil, Norway, Morocco, Paraguay, Canada and Mexico.
Spain coasted past Austria and into the World Cup last-16 on Thursday, thoroughly outclassing their opponents in a 3-0 knockout win with a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header.
The European champions controlled possession and sliced through the Austrian defense in a typically dominant performance in Los Angeles, as Hollywood stars Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and singer Rosalia cheered on.
The win — which could have been by a greater margin, with a disallowed goal and a free kick off the woodwork — sets up a tantalizing round-of-16 clash with either Portugal or Croatia.
The SoFi Stadium was a sea of red and excitement was sky-high over the first visit by a bona fide World Cup favorite to America’s second city.
Spain ratcheted up the pressure gradually through the first half, creating a string of chances after the first hydration break.
Marc Cucurella thought he had scored from a Lamine Yamal corner, but Pau Cubarsi was judged to have encroached on Austria’s goalkeeper.
Alexander Schlager then made a superb diving save, pushing Oyarzabal’s low shot around the post.
Austria’s defense finally buckled in the 36th minute. Pedri pinged a ball wide left to Cucurella, whose cross to Oyarzabal was calmly side-footed past the ‘keeper.
Spain’s dominance grew further, with Yamal tormenting the Austrians, mainly from the right flank.
An Alex Baena free kick hit the crossbar, and Yamal’s close-range follow-up shot was well saved.
Austria spurned a rare chance at the other end. Romano Schmid played in a late-arriving and unmarked Stefan Posch, but a terrible first touch meant he lost the ball before even attempting a shot.
‘Ole’
After the break Spain continued knocking on the door without quite putting the game to rest.
Austria sent on two giant strikers — Sasa Kalajdzic and Marko Arnautovic — and immediately went long, with Kalajdzic putting a header over the bar.
But in the 66th minute, Spain struck again. Baena lifted a cross onto the head of Pedro Porro, who nodded in his first goal for Spain.
Some dogged defending kept the scoreline respectable, including a goalline clearance by David Alaba from Yamal, who was substituted off to rest moments later.
Spain sprayed passes around the pitch as the final minutes ticked down, eliciting “Oles” from the crowd, as attention turned to a sterner test on Monday in Dallas.
In the 89th minute, a pinpoint Cucurella cross found a completely unmarked Oyarzabal in the penalty area, who slotted the ball home.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Ex-Arsenal striker, Ian Wright, has named the only team that can stop France from winning the 2026 World Cup.
Les Bleus qualified for the last 16, thanks to a 3-0 hammering of Sweden, with captain Kylian Mbappe scoring twice.
Mbappe is leading the race for the Golden Boot with six goals and two assists.
France will take on Paraguay in the next round, as they seek to play in their third consecutive World Cup final.
Didier Deschamps lost the 2022 tournament to Argentina on penalties and Wright has claimed only Lionel Messi and co can stop them again.
“It’s going to take something [to beat France],” Wright said.
“It’s going to take an Argentina because of the warrior nature of Argentina.”
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