West Ham vs. Manchester City: Score, Grades, Reaction from Premier League Game
West Ham United reinforced their claims for a push for the European places with a battling 2-1 win over champions Manchester City on Saturday.
The Hammers were extremely lively against a City side who looked off the pace for much of the contest. Goals from Morgan Amalfitano and Diafra Sakho set them on their way to victory, and not even a brilliant goal from David Silva could spark City into claiming a share of the spoils.
The Hammers handed Manchester City an opening in the second minute by gifting possession to Sergio Aguero. The Argentina international strode forward at pace before letting fly with a shot which took a wicked deflection and forced a scrambling save from Adrian.
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It was a bright start from City, but it did not last as West Ham wrestled control of the contest.
Eliaquim Mangala has found the pace and power of the Premier League much different to the Portuguese Primeira Liga since his summer move from Porto. He almost turned the ball into his own net on nine minutes, but Joe Hart was alert and able to push the defender’s sliced clearance over the top.
"Mangala's only played six games for City but arguably been at fault for four goals. Expected more of the Prem's most expensive defender.
— Matthew Stanger (@MatthewStanger) October 25, 2014"
The West Ham of 2014/15 are full of pace, but Sam Allardyce’s side are still potent at set pieces, and that was proved on 19 minutes. A long free-kick down the middle was knocked down to Enner Valencia, but he was denied by a brave save from Hart, who took a blow to the face in the process.
Valencia caused plenty of problems for City in the opening 20 minutes, and it was the Ecuadorian who crafted the opening goal. A direct run in to the path of a pass from Alex Song took him beyond the City defence.
Amalfitano was Valencia’s only target in the box, and he found him with a cross that evaded the outstretched boot of the retreating Pablo Zabaleta and provided his team-mate with a tap-in from three yards.
"Mangala seemed to underestimate Valencia's pace for that goal
— Stuart Brennan (@StuBrennanMEN) October 25, 2014"
City crafted a response with a clever near-post corner routine, but Edin Dzeko was unable to direct his shot on target.
City have a revered midfield engine room, but Yaya Toure and Fernando were second best to Alex Song and Mark Noble. Dominating the midfield enabled West Ham to fashion chances, and the only surprise was that they did not go in at the interval more than one goal to the good.
Stewart Downing and Valencia both had good chances, but the former failed to keep his header down, while the latter snatched at a loose ball and scuffed his shot wide.
Adrian had little to do in the opening half, but the West Ham 'keeper was alert on the stroke of the break to hack away the ball as Aguero—who was arguably lucky to still be on the field after getting away with a stamp on Noble right under the nose of the referee—looked all set to level the scores.
The rabona is in vogue at the moment thanks to Erik Lamela, and Song produced one of his own, a cross into the box. The loose ball fell to Stewart Downing, but he dragged his effort across the face of goal.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini threw on Stevan Jovetic just before the hour mark, and it heralded a shift in momentum. City enjoyed a decent spell of possession, and Adrian was forced to make a sharp save with his left leg to deny Aguero.
A combination of Adrian and the woodwork kept West Ham in front on 65 minutes. A snapshot from Aguero beat Adrian but crashed against the bar. The loose ball fell to Toure, who struck it well, but the 'keeper was able to adjust and make the save.
The woodwork saved West Ham for a second time on 74 minutes. Aguero and David Silva tormented the West Ham defence with a series of slick passes. The pair crafted space for Toure, who went for the top corner but was left frustrated as the ball crashed against the corner of bar and post.
It was a turning point, as one minute later West Ham doubled their lead. Sakho climbed high to power a header towards the bottom corner. At first glance, it appeared Hart had made a brilliant save, but goal-line technology showed the ball had just crossed the line.
"Diafra Sakho becomes the first West Ham player to score in 6 successive Premier League games. pic.twitter.com/lhNYmmbuUX
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 25, 2014"
City needed something special to get back in the game; Silva provided it on 77. He collected the ball on the right and jinked his way past three defenders before curling a brilliant shot into the corner. It was a quite superb goal.
"76. Sheer brilliance from @21lva... he jinks in from the right and surgically picks out the far corner with a curling strike. A stunner!
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) October 25, 2014"
City laid siege to the West Ham goal in the final 10 minutes, and there were scares, but the Hammers held on for the three points.
Alex Song spoke to BT Sport after being named Man of the Match.
“It was an important game today,” Song said. “Everyone gave their best today, today everyone is happy and it was a great day for us.”
It is the end of a bad week for City. They surrendered a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at CSKA Moscow in the Champions League in midweek. Their European hopes hang in the balance, while they are in danger of losing touch with Chelsea in the Premier League title race.
For West Ham, they are shaping up to be a real threat to the bigger sides. In the coming weeks, they have a number of games that look, on paper at least, extremely winnable. They will go a long way to deciding whether they will be challenging for Europe.
Grades
Alex Song: A
For all the money that was spent on transfers in the summer, West Ham got something of a bargain by securing the services of Song on a season-long loan from Barcelona.
He knows the Premier League, so there was no adjustment period. He was excellent against City as he bossed the engine room alongside Mark Noble.
Enner Valencia: A
West Ham paid good money for Valencia, and it is looking like £12 million well spent. His searing pace and direct style caused problems for City all afternoon.
Eliaquim Mangala: C
Mangala had a tough start to the game, with Valencia’s pace causing problems, but he stuck at his task and improved in the second half.
David Silva: B
The Spaniard was on the fringe of the game for an hour, but a change in shape sparked him to life. He crafted chances and scored a quite brilliant goal of his own.
