MAN CITY 4-1 WEST HAM: Pep Guardiola’s side registered back-to-back victories for the first time in three months as the champions swept aside the sorry Hammers at The Etihad
MAN CITY 4-1 WEST HAM: Pep Guardiola’s side registered back-to-back victories for the first time in three months as the champions swept aside the sorry Hammers at The Etihad MAN CITY 4-1 WEST HAM: Pep Guardiola’s side registered back-to-back victories for the first time in three months as the champions swept aside the sorry Hammers at The Etihad
The crisis is officially over and normal service has resumed.
Manchester City made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since October, with Erling Haaland bagging a double and Savinho and Phil Foden also on the scoresheet.
The title may be long gone and City may remain sixth, but this win proved Pep Guardiola’s side have emerged from their remarkable mid-season slump to get back on track.
While this may only have been a third win in 15 games in all competitions, it was another significant step for the fallen champions in their fight to claim a Champions League place.
After West Ham twice threatened early on, it was record four-in-a-row title winners City who took the lead after 10 minutes, thanks to a huge slice of fortune.
Savinho’s initial cross was cleared, but when the ball found its way back to him, his second delivery took a deflection off Vladimir Coufal, sending it spinning over Alphonse Areola and into the net.
That early goal should have proved the platform for City to go on and assert their dominance, building on their lead, but it took them a while to get themselves into that position.
The uncertainty and sloppiness that underpinned City’s recent crisis was evident again in the first-half, with experienced players misplacing simple passes and losing possession cheaply.
That was never more the case than in the 21 st minute, when Manuel Akanji dithered on the ball, allowing Crysencio Summerville to rob him and surge goalwards with only Stefan Ortega to beat.
But just as Summerville was setting off, ref Michael Salisbury blew for a foul by him on Akanji, a dubious decision greeted with understandable fury by the visitors.
West Ham were afforded another sight of the City goal, in the 34 th minute, when Savinho made a rare error with an under-hit pass to Kevin De Bruyne, following a short corner.
Summerville seized on the poor pass and in turn found Kudus, who raced towards the City goal under pressure from the chasing Foden, who put him under enough pressure so he sliced the ball wide.
It proved a costly miss, with City doubling their lead three minutes before the break, Haaland involved in the creation and execution, laying the ball off to Foden near the halfway line.
Foden played a sublime crossfield ball to Savinho, who put the ball past Coufal before rounding him and looping a perfect cross to the far post, where Haaland – who had sprinted into the box – was waiting unmarked to nod it in for his 20 th goal of the season.
Haaland claimed his second of the game in the 55 th minute, running in behind Kilman and onto a perfectly weighted pass from Savinho, before chipping the ball over Areola.
Foden got on the scoresheet three minutes later, De Bruyne pouncing on a poor ball from Kudus and finding the England star, who applied the simplest of finishes.
Niclas Fullkrug pulled one back for the Hammers in the 71 st minute, but it was too little, too late for the beleaguered visitors, who have now shipped nine goals in two games.
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