31 August 2024
West Ham 1 Man City 3
Pep Guardiola’s side travelled to the capital, still yet to lose a game in the Premier League in the calendar year. West Ham were the opponents at the London Stadium, a venue that Man City had an incredible record at. Julen Lopetegui’s team had picked up their first win of the season last weekend but the new manager was still looking to lose his cherry at home.
The Hammers started well and put the visitors under pressure from the off. The champions were defending more like something you would expect to see every other week at Goodison Park. Man City managed to weather the storm and keep their clean sheet intact. As they came forward for the first time, Silva picked out Haaland in the box but his header sailed over the crossbar.
However, the Norwegian marksman did not have to wait long to make amends. Paqueta gave the ball away in the middle of the park and it was fed into the path of Haaland. He took one touch to get the ball under his spell and stroked it past Areola to give the visitors the lead. Man City made it look so easy as they punished The Hammers for a simple error.
It has been a good week for Manchester as Oasis announced they were reforming. Although their impending tour means the Etihad Stadium will be two fans down every week, it was music to the ears of every Manc. Now it was Pep Guardiola’s side who were starting to hit the high notes in the capital, strengthening their position at the top of the table.
Lopetegui’s side continued to be the architects of their own downfall. Once again gifting the ball to the visitors, this time it was Grealish with the goal in his sights. Fortunately his effort was deflected wide for a corner. As De Bruyne took it short and looked for it back, he noticed Areola out of position. The Belgian cheekily whipped a curling effort into the near post but The Hammers’ keeper recovered to make a good save.
Man City were fully in their stride by this point. The ball was worked to De Bruyne in the box and his curling effort thundered back off the crossbar. Grealish had another shot from the follow-up but it sailed wide of the upright. At this point, you just felt it was a matter of time before Pep Guardiola’s side doubled their lead.
West Ham then came away on a rare counter. As it was worked to Bowen out wide, he twisted and turned to get to the byline. With no one to aim for in the box, he fizzed in a dangerous cross along the six yard box. Dias tried to clear but could only divert the ball into his own net to give the hosts a lifeline in a game they should already have been out of.
The feel-good factor lasted all of eleven minutes in the capital. Some neat one-touch football by Man City saw Lewis work it to Haaland in the box. As the defenders stood off him, he checked onto his left foot and thundered a shot past Areola and into the back of the net. Danny Dyer had not been silenced so quickly since he found out Linda Carter was cheating on him.
Lopetegui’s side had the chance to level things up before the break when Kudus found some space in the box. Sadly he dragged his left-footed shot the wrong side of the post. Despite the visitors’ dominance and threat in this game, The Hammers were still creating chances. Some positives to take into the second half for West Ham.
Things could have been so different for the hosts early into the second half. A quick counter-attack from The Hammers saw Kudus and Bowen exchange passes. As the Ghanaian winger had just Ederson to beat, his shot cracked against the woodwork and came back out into play. These are the fine margins that separate the best from the rest in this league.
Nunes then spotted the run of Haaland and threaded him clean through on goal. As Fabianski, a half-time substitute, ran out to meet him the iceman showed his composure. He dinked the ball past The Hammers’ keeper to secure a second hat-trick in as many games. The Norwegian’s stats since signing for the club are just insane.
By this stage of the game, the London Stadium had emptied out like news had broken that Chas and Dave were playing a free gig in the car park. They almost missed Summerville’s first goal in a West Ham shirt but his curling shot was tipped onto the outside of the post by Ederson. It was a fine save by the Brazilian keeper. Had they scored, it could have proved a nervy finish for the visitors.
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