Manchester City: 3 Key Takeaways from 3-1 win over West Ham
By Larry Henry
In their final Premier League match before next week’s international break, Manchester City defeated West Ham United 3-1 on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola‘s side advanced to the UEFA Champions League group-stage in midweek, and had a sneaky test on their hands against Slaven Bilic‘s West Ham United on Sunday.
West Ham started the season losing 2-1 at Chelsea on the opening weekend, before edging Bournemouth 1-0 at their new London Stadium last Sunday.
More from Game Review
- Manchester City keep unbeaten streak alive with 1-1 draw vs Brighton
- Manchester City march towards the title with 3-0 win over West Ham
- Manchester City “tear cockneys apart again” in masterclass 4-1 Premier League win
- Manchester City produce a professional performance to reach the FA Cup Final
- Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich: the Etihad brought all the Champions League drama
Bilic had his hands tied with key players Dimitri Payet, Andy Carroll, and Andre Ayew all out due to injury. Manchester City had a full line-up available after hosting Steaua Bucharest midweek.
Willy Caballero returned in-goal, while a back-line of Pablo Zabaleta, John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, and Gael Clichy all started. The midfield consisted of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, and Fernandinho. Up front, Nolito and Raheem Sterling started in the wing positions, while Sergio Aguero got his usual spot as the main striker.
After a fast start from City that saw Aguero and Silva just miss, Raheem Sterling finished off a great passage of play with a tap-in goal from the center of the box for a 1-0 lead. Silva found Noltio down the left-wing who crossed to Sterling who was left wide-open for the easy finish seven minutes in.
Eleven minutes later, City were back again to extend the lead as Fernandinho headed home his 15th career goal for Manchester City to make it 2-0. Kevin De Bruyne played the perfect cross from a free-kick into the center of the box which the Brazilian headed home.
Pep Guardiola’s side would take a 2-0 lead into the halftime break. in the second half, West Ham knew they had to shut down City offensively but create more chances of their own offensively.
Michail Antonio headed home at the back post in the 58th minute to cut the hosts lead to 2-1. Antonio, who scored the winner a week ago, was given a great cross from left-back Arthur Masuaku.
West Ham continued to pressure Manchester City but they were soon cut out by Sterling who tapped home his second of the day in the 92nd minute. The score stood at 3-1, after Sterling tapped home again from close range after he rounded Hammers keeper Adrian.
Overall, it was a great showing by Manchester City in probably their best effort yet in the young 2016-17 campaign. Listed below are the match stats.
According to BBC Sport, Pep Guardiola felt his side should be satisfied with their overall performance on Sunday. “At 2-1, the emotions, not the tactics, went in. We created many chances, I don’t know how many shots we had but the performance in general was real good with or without the ball. With the quality of our players, we can be satisfied.”
Wednesday is the Transfer Deadline Day, so we could see some players such as Joe Hart, Yaya Toure, Eliaquim Mangala, and even Wilfried Bony out the door before City kick a ball again. Samir Nasri is also under speculation, even after being a second-half substitute this afternoon.
Next: Spurs curious about Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala
Three key takeaways from today’s victory
1.) Raheem Sterling looks like his old self again!
After a disappointing summer with England, Raheem Sterling looks to be having fun playing soccer again. He added two more goals to his tally this season and seems to be enjoying every minute playing with top talent. He knows what his job is on the field and seems to be relishing playing under Pep Guardiola. He tallied two assists against Stoke a week ago and we could definitely see more as the season progresses.
2.) Even when pressured, Manchester City looked calm and composed.
After leading 2-0, everybody knew West Ham would put up a stronger attempt to score in the second half. After Antonio headed home to cut the hosts to 2-1, Manchester City didn’t seem to panic one bit. They continued to try and score more goals while playing solid defense. Maybe in past years, the back-line would get flustered and just fling the ball downfield and hope Sergio Aguero could score for them. The partnership in the back has only allowed two goals in five matches in all competitions. The interesting part is that Vincent Kompany isn’t even back yet, so with him back just think how much better the back-line could sound.
3.) De Bruyne and Silva work wonders in midfield.
Every Manchester City fan knew what they were getting in Kevin De Bruyne when he joined the club last season. What they didn’t expect was him to roll of the stats like he did, especially on a high-scoring offense like Manchester City. David Silva seems to run the offense through him, and Kevin De Bruyne seems to do the same when Silva isn’t in the squad. When they both start, they are double the trouble for opposing defenses. De Bruyne is always a threat with his feet or with his mind, just like Silva. I feel these two can easily be the best 1-2 midfield partnership in England, especially if they keep leading Manchester City to victories.
With a week off due to World Cup qualifiers, Manchester City will not play again in the league until September 10th. Their opponent, Jose Mourinho‘s Manchester United. Need I say more? Following that they kick off their UEFA Champions League Group Stage fixtures with a home match against Borussia Monchengladbach on September 13th.