Guardiola is a phenomenally hard task master.
His standards are exacting and he has driven City on when they have been in the midst of those long winning streaks that have been such a hallmark of his eight-and-a-half incredibly successful seasons at the club.
Yet the soul searching of the past few weeks has been so extensive, it did feel as though a comfortable win – even if West Ham did have some decent chances – was something to celebrate.
While Guardiola rejected that theory, he was more expansive about Brazilian winger Savinho.
A £30m arrival from fellow City Football Group club Troyes last summer, the 20-year-old has endured an inconsistent debut campaign.
However, West Ham could not cope with his direct running. It was Savinho’s cross that Coufal deflected into his own goal and another Haaland headed in for the second.
Savinho also provided the through ball Haaland finished off for City’s third, leading to fulsome praise from Guardiola.
“Having a left foot on the left side, like old fashioned vintage football, right in the right, left in the left, and these kinds of crosses helps the striker we have,” he said.
“He has lot to improve. He is not aggressive enough without the ball and a little bit soft in many departments. But right now has something special and brilliant that helps the team a lot.”
