West Ham 1 Man City 3
Both sides had made what their fans would regard as perfect starts to their seasons, only the visitors had done so mathematically however as West Ham welcomed Man City to the London Stadium. David Moyes’ side were hoping to replicate the performance they put in when Chelsea came to town.
Doku started to make life difficult for the hosts with his pace and skill but West Ham were able to defend at the expense of a corner. How Man City did not score from the resulting set piece, only Areola will know.
Rodri’s header was saved well by the keeper before the follow up was saved again. The midfielder then had a shot blocked before his next effort was turned goalwards by Haaland, only to see Soucek clear off the line. Then Diaz’s header was tipped over the crossbar by Areola.
Just in the one phase of play, Man City could have scored four goals. As Doku continued to cause problems, he crossed to the back post where he perfectly found Haaland but the finishing machine put the effort well wide of the goal.
Credit: @WestHam
The Hammers started to ask questions when Bowen’s corner was flicked on at the near post by Soucek but nobody could react quickly enough at the back post. New signing James Ward-Prowse shot from the edge of the box to force the first save out of Ederson in the City goal.
Doku then gave the ball away on the halfway line, allowing West Ham to break and as Soucek clipped a ball into the back post, it was met by the diving header of Ward-Prowse. Paulo Di Canio was in attendance and celebrated from the executive boxes.
Erling Haaland then had a chance to equalise but while he turned Doku’s cross goalbound, there was not enough on it and The Hammers were able to clear. The hosts went in at half-time leading, despite the dominance of the visitors.
With Pep Guardiola back on the touchline after his back operation, his team talk must have inspired, as the impressive Doku cut in from the left to bend one into the far corner only 43 seconds after the restart.
Rodri then won a free kick for the visitors, which Julian Alvarez struck, only to see his effort come thundering back off the woodwork with Areola beaten. West Ham were struggling to retain the ball and when Rodri scooped the ball up to Haaland, his acrobatic effort was saved by the in-form Areola.
David Moyes’ side created a couple of half chances, firstly for Antonio, but his heavy touch allowed Ederson to block. Then Emerson made a run into the box but Akanji manged to deflect the effort wide. From the resulting corner, Zouma met it with a strong header but Ederson made a world-class save to keep it out.
Credit: @ManCity
As the champions-elect came forward once again, Alvarez scooped a ball over the defence which was badly misjudged by Aguerd, allowing Silva to flick it past Areola to give Man City the lead. Brilliant finish by the Portuguese playmaker.
Kyle Walker then showed the sort of pace that saw him elude lockdown protocols when he crossed to find Haaland perfectly but Areola was to deny him again. It seemed as though it was not going to be the Norwegian’s day.
Good strikers keep getting into the positions, knowing the goal will come. Bernardo Silva threaded the ball through and Erling Haaland buried it past the West Ham keeper. He seemed relieved more than anything to finally be on the scoresheet.
West Ham tried their hardest to go toe-to-toe against Pep’s side but the quality shone through as they were just beaten by a better team. David Moyes’ side seem stronger since the departure of Rice, following the additions they made, there will be no relegation battles to get involved in this season.
Bubbles will continue to be blown in London this season, meanwhile Man City are missing Kevin De Bruyne about as much as Liam Gallagher at a High Flying Birds concert. They are already looking like they will take some stopping this season.
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