City lifted by Haaland double

Erling Haaland's latest double helped cancel out a costly mistake by Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and lift the side into second place in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Sunday.

Haaland moved onto 13 goals for the campaign — more than twice the tally of any other player — by running clear from passes by the impressive Rayan Cherki to finish one-on-one chances in the 17th and 33rd minutes. Haaland pulled out a robot celebration after the first goal.

Between those goals, Bournemouth equalized after Donnarumma attempted to punch clear an inswinging corner, only to misjudge it and pat the ball down in front of him. United States midfielder Tyler Adams swept home the loose ball for his first Premier League goal, and Donnarumma was booked for complaining too stridently that he had been fouled.

That mistake will only be a footnote under the latest Haaland headlines, though, with the Norway striker making it 26 goals in 16 games for club and country so far this season. He has scored two goals in each of his last four home appearances in the Premier League.

"I didn't score last game (a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa)," Haaland told Sky Sports. "I try to help the team to win, that is my goal. Even by scoring or helping in winning duels, it doesn't matter, I want to help the team become better, that is my job."

Haaland laughed when asked about being taken off before completing his hat-trick, saying: "You need to ask Pep about this. There were probably a few fantasy managers who were not so happy when I got subbed off!"

Locally born left-back Nico O'Reilly drove home the third goal for City in the 60th minute, which leapfrogged Bournemouth into second to become the nearest challenger to pace-setter Arsenal.

Arsenal, seeking a first league title since 2004, beat Burnley 2-0 on Saturday and now holds a six-point lead after 10 games.

Pep defends his keeper

While Donnarumma has impressed with his shot-stopping since joining from Paris Saint-Germain, a weakness in the Italy international's game might be his habit of punching at crosses.

In September, Donnarumma punched the ball into his own net when playing for Italy against Israel, but that goal was ruled out after it was deemed that an opposition player was fouling him.

On Sunday, Bournemouth captain David Brooks initially had a hold of Donnarumma's left arm, but let go before the goalkeeper attempted his punch.

City manager Pep Guardiola said it was "unbelievable" that the goal was allowed to stand.

"There are sometimes things that are difficult to understand why it was not disallowed," he said.

Bournemouth started well and Eli Junior Kroupi celebrated what he thought was the game's first goal in the opening minute, before it was quickly ruled offside.

The visitor squandered several chances, with Kroupi firing into the side netting and then having a hard shot pushed away by Donnarumma in a two-minute spell early in the second half.

"It was not a bad performance by us," Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola said.

"We are starting quite well in games. Even when they scored the first goal we were controlling a lot. You have to accept the way we play, there are risks."

Hammers end drought

West Ham's fans had been waiting eight months for a home win in the Premier League.

They finally got one after their embattled team rallied to beat Newcastle 3-1 for just a second victory this season.

Jacob Murphy's fourth-minute opener for Newcastle, which came seconds after Jarrod Bowen struck the post at the other end, failed to spark what proved to be a sluggish performance by the visitor.

Instead, West Ham grew more into the game, and, after Lucas Paqueta equalized in the 35th minute with a long-range shot that crept inside the near post, Newcastle defender Sven Botman stretched to block a cross, but only succeeded in turning the ball into his own net in first-half stoppage time.

Substitute Tomas Soucek added a third for West Ham in second-half stoppage time.

West Ham's last home win was against Leicester on Feb 27.

The team remains in the relegation zone, but climbed above Nottingham Forest into 18th place. Forest was the only team West Ham had previously beaten this season.

Nuno Espirito Santo had collected just one point from his first four games in charge of the Hammers after replacing the sacked Graham Potter in late September, just over two weeks after he himself had been sacked by Forest.

The Portuguese coach, who has had to be patient in waiting for his first win, said it was "terrific to hear the noise at the London Stadium".

"The players are realizing that to win in the Premier League, we have to work very hard," he told the BBC.

"We will do it again. The win makes it easier, there are smiles and the legs feel easier.

"We see slight improvements on the pitch. We have to create a platform on the pitch."

Agencies