Man City 2 West Ham 1 (Gundogan 33′, Fernandinho 90′; Lanzini 90+4′)
ETIHAD STADIUM — Pep Guardiola accepted his Manchester City side did what they could in difficult conditions to get the job done and earn a determined victory over West Ham.
In blizzard-like weather at the Etihad, Ilkay Gundogan edged the champions in front in the first half from close range after good work from Riyad Mahrez, before it took until the 90th minute for substitute Fernandinho to put the game to bed to move the champions back into second in the table.
“It was a tough game in midweek against PSG, but this was a huge victory for us,” Guardiola said. “We did not concede much and controlled their counter attacks. The weather conditions did not allow us to put in a different kind of performance.
“The groundsmen were the men of the match, they did an incredible job. Both teams played the same conditions. When you cannot play the same way as normal you have to adapt, take risks. And we did just enough.”
West Ham toiled away in the match, and put together plenty of moves of promise, but they ultimately did not create enough clear-cut chances before Manuel Lanzini’s brilliantly-executed consolation in the 94th minute.
It was a blow to their top-four credentials, as they suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since April.
“The real quality at the top end makes the difference quite often,” David Moyes added. “Man City are full of quality and good players. We’ve done lots of good things today. But when we got the chances to either create a good opening or to maybe finish a good chance off we didn’t take them.
“You don’t come to Man City and get loads of them but we did our best to make some. I have told the players we need to be better in the final third.”
Analysis: West Ham get a lesson from one of the country’s best
Even the most well-oiled of machines can struggle in the snow.
While Paris Saint-Germain were put to the sword in their last home match after some mouth-watering, slick football, Manchester City dug in to show a side to their game only the very best have to get the better of West Ham, who did their best to resemble a side chasing a top-four spot.
The difference in arctic conditions at the Etihad was in the final third. As City ploughed on as best they could, the Hammers continued to probe and prod, like a toddler desperate for attention or the family dog longing to stretch its legs. West Ham just wouldn’t go away all match.
Michail Antonio, arguably the league’s most improved player over the last few seasons, might be able to do it on his own up top against many Premier League teams, but few leave such a paucity of space as City do. With “half spaces” very prominent in Pep Guardiola’s vernacular, not even so much as an inch of the Etihad pitch is spared.
And while City did not create chances to the volume they normally do, they still had, in their moments, the quality to carve their opponent apart.
With the conditions giving the day a somewhat apocalyptic feel, with the gritters even out on the state-of-the-art walkway that leads across the busy Ashton New Road to ensure fans made it into the stadium unscathed, supporters were greeted with an even more incongruous sight upon kick off – City on the back foot from the off.
Normally assuming their comfortable position of superiority from the get-go, West Ham took the game to an opponent they had beaten just once in 15 away games, and had the better of the openings early on.
As the scene became more of a blizzard by the second, City slowly but surely turned up the heat, with Aymeric Laporte heading against the post, before Gabriel Jesus had a goal ruled out for offside.
The Etihad did not have to wait too long for that opener, however, with City finally able to give their fans a familiar feeling, with a goal you see time and again in east Manchester – Riyad Mahrez, on the end of a sumptuous long-range pass from Joao Cancelo, squaring for Ilkay Gundogan to tap home.
Jesus then thought he had found the net, only for Ben Johnson to get back and clear off the line.
The real heroes presented themselves in the half-time interval, as an army of shovel wielding groundsmen came out to clear the pitch, which had become a white blanket of snow by the interval.
A delay of 10 minutes extra was needed, but everyone seemed to play their part. Guardiola, being the megalomaniac that he is, was probably involved, identity concealed.
Then, as the second half unfolded, without the need for a more visible colour of ball, came the real lesson in control, an eye-opener for the Hammers in what it really means to be a top side.
With Rodri providing expert screening of the backline, Antonio must have felt very claustrophobic indeed. He turned one way and Ruben “The Door” Dias, as his defensive partner Laporte calls him, was slammed shut, while Laporte himself offered not even a mere suggestion of an opening on the other side.
City, with their defence in such resolute form, were still able to create further openings, with Jesus almost sneaking the ball over the line, only for Aaron Cresswell to get back to again clear off the line. His collision with the post after getting to the ball would have had Phil Babb wincing from afar.
Such was the confidence in their team’s victory, fans started to stream out of the Eithad even sooner than normal, perhaps unsure over whether their car would still be accessible or not.
Those who did leave missed one of the rarer sights in football – a Fernandinho goal – which put the game to bed in the dying stages. Aged 36 years and 208 days, Fernandinho became the second-oldest player to score for City in the Premier League.
Goal of the match from Pablo Fornals, with literally the last kick of the match, did give that scoreline a different impression, but as Moyes and his weary men head back south, they have a greater vision of what it takes to get to the very top, and just how far they still have to go.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3HYdmaj
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