Man City 3 West Ham 1
The task was simple for Pep Guardiola’s side. Beat West Ham at home and it would mean a fourth consecutive title for Man City. Victory against Tottenham in their game in hand had meant they went into the final day two points clear of Arsenal.
It was David Moyes’ last game as The Hammers’ manager. Many wondered if he was going to have a finale to remember in derailing Man City’s title ambitions. From the neutral perspective, not many could see the visitors having enough about them to cause an upset.
With no Jarrod Bowen in the West Ham team, their chances of getting a win in Manchester looked as likely as Danny Dyer getting a Chelsea tattoo. Especially with their current form, it had seemed that the squad had already downed tools and mentally were on a beach somewhere.
Guardiola’s side made the perfect start. Silva received the ball out wide and slid it into the feet of Foden. He cut inside onto his left foot and let rip from outside the box with a sublime effort. As it arrowed into the top corner of the goal, the Etihad Stadium erupted after only two minutes.
Credit: @ManCity
That was Foden’s 26th goal of an unbelievable season for the youngster. His talent and form should mean that is one of the first names on the team sheet for England at the Euros. However, the mind of Gareth Southgate doesn’t work like that. Should he not start, it will be akin to leaving Gazza at home.
Doku was causing problems down the left wing and he twisted and turned before cutting inside onto his right foot. He fizzed a shot at goal but Areola made a fantastic save, at full stretch, to divert the effort over the crossbar. City were rampant at this point.
The Belgian winger then turned provider as he rolled the ball into the path of Foden in the box. He struck a first-time shot into the bottom corner to double the lead for the defending champions. Guardiola’s side were purring and West Ham looked helpless in stopping them.
They should have been three goals to the good as Dias squared the ball towards Haaland. Mavropanos missed his clearance but it seemed to be enough to put the Norwegian off as he missed his kick, with a goal looking certain.
De Bruyne almost added a third as he looked to bend one in the far corner from the edge of the box. The West Ham keeper made a fingertip save to divert the ball narrowly wide of the far post. At this point, Arsenal’s title chances looked slimmer than the winner of the 2024 Miss Anorexia crown.
The Hammers forced a corner just before the interval. As the hosts failed to clear their lines, Kudus flicked the ball up for himself, with his back to goal. He then pulled an insane overhead kick out of the bag to get Moyes’ side back into this game.
Credit: @Arsenal
With some nervous faces all around the ground, Man City continued to probe and look for another way through in the second half. Rodri eased their worries when he passed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal from the edge of the penalty area.
West Ham were looking dangerous from corners. As the ball was flicked on, Soucek diverted it into the net and had the neck to celebrate. The replay showed that he had literally punched it into the goal. VAR intervened and rightly ruled out the effort.
It is crazy to see The Hammers’ player even have the nerve to celebrate it. Almost like he thought TV cameras had not been invented and there was no way anyone could see his crime. Pep Guardiola’s side took all three points and with it, won their fourth consecutive Premier League title.
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