West Brom vs. Manchester City: Winners and Losers from Premier League
With one match out of the way, Manchester City are exactly where they want to be.
Yaya Toure scored twice, and Vincent Kompany added the third goal as City stormed to the top of the Premier League table with a dominant 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Monday evening at The Hawthorns.
Bigger tests will await Manuel Pellegrini's side—and one is coming soon—but the Sky Blues looked the part of title contenders against West Brom, thoroughly outplaying their hosts throughout the 90 minutes.
Here, B/R selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Yaya Toure
1 of 4
Yaya Toure started the season with a nearly perfect first half, scoring twice to give Manchester City a commanding lead at the break. Per Squawka, he also completed 98 percent of his passes, created one chance and recorded one take-on in the opening 45 minutes.
Just don't tell him he's back.
Toure's first goal, in the ninth minute, trickled past West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill after City teammate David Silva appeared to take the slightest of touches. The second, 15 minutes later, was much more emphatic.
Taking possession in the middle of the pitch, Toure dribbled toward the box and passed to Wilfried Bony. The striker passed back to Toure, who curled a first-time shot into the top corner.
The big Ivorian didn't do anything quite as impressive in the second half, but he didn't have to. After 45 minutes, Toure had already helped send City on their way to victory.
Toure's objective now will be to turn an impressive opening performance into a sustained spell of good football. At 32, the midfielder is already past the age at which most players peak, but both he and his club will be hoping for a standout campaign.
Last season was hardly his best at the Etihad, but Toure has given himself a solid foundation for 2015-16.
"I know what I have to do, and I don't care what people say about me," a defiant Toure said after the match, per BBC Sport. "I'm not back—I'm always there."
Loser: Tony Pulis
2 of 4
City thoroughly dominated West Brom on Monday, and few would doubt that Manuel Pellegrini's side played better than any of their Premier League title rivals on the opening weekend. Champions Chelsea could only draw with Swansea City, Manchester United failed to convince in victory over Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal lost at home to West Ham United.
By virtue of their three-goal win, the Sky Blues will top the embryonic table after the first round of games, and deservedly so, following a stellar performance. But while all of the above is true, it's also true that West Brom failed to pose much of a challenge.
Manager Tony Pulis took the blame for his side's showing, and rightfully so. In the first half, West Brom were too passive, defending too deep and not engaging their opponents when City attacked. The Baggies improved after the break and managed to create a few moments of danger, especially (and predictably) on set pieces, but by then, the damage was done.
The hosts weren't able to convert their bright play into a goal, and instead, City bagged another goal through Vincent Kompany in the 59th minute. If the game wasn't already finished, the third goal certainly spoiled any hopes of a comeback.
Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport), Pulis said:
"I take responsibility for the way we set up. The fact we had Saido and Rickie up front together pulled us away from what we should do. I said to them afterwards I'd take responsibility.
There are certain principles we have to stick by and work with to get results at this level and I went away from that. We created quite a few chances but we were far too loose as a team.
"
So what did Monday's match tell us about the two teams? Perhaps not all that much.
Ahead of the season, we knew City would have a top-four squad and try to sustain a stronger challenge to Chelsea for the title. After beating a poor West Brom side on the opening weekend, Pellegrini won't have gathered many new bits of information.
One encouraging development came in the form of statistics. According to Eurosport, City completed 692 passes against West Brom, 211 more than any other Premier League team on the opening weekend. Again, though, one has to wonder whether those stats would have been so impressive against tougher opposition.
Next weekend's clash with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium will serve as a better barometer. If City win again and play attractive football in doing so, then it will be time to make informed predictions on their title credentials.
Winner: David Silva
3 of 4
Much of the press' pre-match attention centered on Raheem Sterling following the England attacker's £49 million transfer from Liverpool to Manchester City over the summer. In his first competitive game with City, the 20-year-old produced an uneven performance, showing flashes of his considerable pace and skill at times but also missing a clear chance late in the first half.
As it turns out, all the attention was in the wrong place. David Silva, a City stalwart since 2010, outshone his new teammate in every facet of the game. The 29-year-old thrilled onlookers all night, running the show with deft touches, clever passing, incisive movement and an outstanding all-around game.
Silva might have been awarded the opening goal after appearing to take the slightest of touches as Yaya Toure's shot rolled past. The Spaniard later set up the third goal with an inswinging corner that Vincent Kompany redirected into the net with his shoulder.
Naturally, such a fine outing drew loads of praise. Former England international Gary Lineker called Silva "different gravy!" Hull City midfielder David Meyler called him "a joy to watch." Awarding the player a 9-out-of-10 rating, ESPN FC's David Mooney described Silva as a "marvel to the football world (who) must work with wormholes.
"The amount of time and space he was able to generate for himself was incredible, especially in areas that were so tight that defenders would rightly expect the ball to go out of play," Mooney continued. "He was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch."
Perhaps most appropriately, the Mail's Oliver Holt tweeted: "Big, big fan of Sterling but if he's worth £49m, what's David Silva worth?"
That question will have to remain hypothetical for now. City would not think of selling Silva at the moment. But if the Spaniard can replicate Monday's performance enough times over the course of the season, his value could be measured in the strength of City's title challenge.
Loser: Victor Anichebe
4 of 4
Just before the game, West Brom confirmed the signing of Venezuelan forward Salomon Rondon from Zenit St. Petersburg. According to the club's official website, the 25-year-old signed a four-year contract after West Brom paid Zenit "a fee in the region of £12 million."
That's a club-record signing, and it means Victor Anichebe is likely set to become fourth choice for the Baggies. Saido Berahino and Rickie Lambert started together Monday night, and although the combination didn't work, both players appear to be ahead of Anichebe in the pecking order. After spending a record amount on Rondon, the club will surely give him plenty of chances to establish himself.
Thus Anichebe will have to impress manager Tony Pulis whenever he has a chance. On Monday, the Nigerian didn't exactly play poorly after entering the game as a second-half substitute, but he likely did nothing to convince Pulis to give him more playing time.
As the season progresses, Anichebe will have to fight in order to earn a spot on the pitch. But as the Birmingham Mail's Mat Kendrick wrote in a preseason preview of West Brom, his odds don't seem good: "His chances of becoming an Albion hero are receding with every injury lay-off."
Follow @MiguelCominguez
