Savinho and Erling Haaland Spark Renewed Hope for Man City in 2025

MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City continued their tradition of winning their first league match of the calendar year, securing a 4-1 victory over West Ham United, extending their streak to 12 seasons.

However, this season is far from typical for Pep Guardiola’s team. Unlike in previous years when January was about pushing for the Premier League title, this campaign has shifted focus to regaining form and making the most of a challenging season.

After a disappointing end to 2024 with only two wins from 14 games, Guardiola has been upfront about the difficulty of securing a fifth consecutive Premier League title. With Liverpool comfortably leading the standings, his assessment seems fair. Nevertheless, City showed signs of their old dominance against West Ham, beginning 2025 with a display of their attacking strength.

Savinho played a key role, contributing to three of the four goals, while Erling Haaland proved his status as one of the world’s top scorers by netting twice, bringing his tally to over 20 goals for the season. Though the performance was not without flaws, it marked City’s first back-to-back wins since October. Guardiola, ever demanding, was not entirely pleased despite the positive outcome.

“We’ve seen our level over the years, and we’re not at that level now,” Guardiola stated. “We won, and I’m happy about that—it helps us. But when we judge the performance, it wasn’t great. When we play well, we know we’re playing well.”

For City to win silverware this season—whether it be the UEFA Champions League or the FA Cup—they will likely rely on their attacking prowess rather than their defense. West Ham were comfortably beaten, but manager Julen Lopetegui could have felt unfairly treated, especially as he heard chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from the home fans.

In the opening moments, Crysencio Summerville was a constant threat, picking up the ball in midfield and finding Mohammed Kudus on the right, who caused problems for Josko Gvardiol. West Ham should have scored at least once before City managed their first real chance. Lopetegui’s side—who failed to register a shot on target in their 5-0 loss to Liverpool—managed 17 attempts at Stefan Ortega’s goal.

In the end, their only reward was Niclas Füllkrug’s goal in the 71st minute, while City were already 4-0 up by then. With more goals conceded than any other team in the top six, City’s defensive issues will make the rest of the season difficult.

“It’s hard to explain the match,” said Lopetegui. “We deserved more. It’s tough to say that after losing 4-1, but we didn’t capitalize on our chances. We did some good things but couldn’t take advantage of our better moments, and City have top-quality players.”

Savinho, who scored his first City goal last week against Leicester, was at the heart of City’s success, playing with a newfound freedom after shedding the pressure of scoring his first goal. He was involved in the first goal, providing a cross that deflected off Vladimír Coufal. His second assist, setting up Haaland’s first goal, was met with admiration from the fans. His final assist for Haaland’s second goal was a clever run and delicate pass through West Ham’s defense. He was substituted to a standing ovation and earned the well-deserved man of the match accolade.

“He’s clear in his mind,” Guardiola said. “He doesn’t dwell on the past. His crosses are exactly what we need for the striker we have.”

“He has a lot to improve—he’s not aggressive enough without the ball, and he’s a bit soft in some areas. But right now, he has something special and brilliant that helps the team.”

“He scored a goal, a bit lucky, but the two assists were brilliant. I’m very happy for him, and he deserves to play.”

Guardiola reacted sharply to a question about whether the win against West Ham meant City "are back."

“I’m very happy with the result, but you can’t ask me if the old Manchester City is back,” he responded firmly.

“If you watched the game, we’re not. Don’t misunderstand me—I’m happy, but if you’re asking if we’re playing like we did in previous years, no, absolutely not.”

Without the swagger of their past, City will need to find new ways to win if they want to finish the season with silverware. They showed they can do just that against West Ham.

Savinho and Haaland, in particular, demonstrated that Guardiola still has the firepower to score goals, even if the defense lacks cohesion. While City may not be fully “back,” a positive second half of the season is still very much possible.