West Brom vs. Manchester City: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match
Manchester City finally ended their six-match winless run across all competitions with a 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Saturday. Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan both bagged a brace.
The Argentina international gave the Citizens the lead after 19 minutes, and he doubled his tally with a beautiful strike just before the half-hour mark.
City dominated the first half, and while West Brom improved after the break, the win was never in doubt. Gundogan added his name to the scoresheet late with two goals.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
As shared by City's official Twitter account, manager Pep Guardiola opted to leave the Belgian duo of Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany on the bench:
City started the match with plenty of possession, with Fernando sliding in at the right-back position and the visitors employing more of a four-man back line. The first real chance of the match fell to the hosts, however, as Nacer Chadli fired a shot wide of the target.
Raheem Sterling put Ben Foster to work on the other side of the pitch, and the stopper was able to gather the ball before Nolito had the chance to power home the follow-up.
The Spaniard thought he had scored just before the 10-minute mark, but Aguero, who had delivered the ball, was deemed to be in an offside position.
Nolito made headlines again for a different reason, as he got a booking for a head-bump on Gareth McAuley. The West Brom man decided against milking the situation, but if he had, Nolito could very well have been sent off, per Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News:
Craig Dawson earned himself a yellow card for bringing Nolito down shortly after.
Sterling had another shot saved by Foster and John Stones placed an effort just wide of the post before Aguero opened the score, taking a pass from Gundogan and expertly converting.
Brennan thought the Argentinian could be the key to ending City's run of poor form:
City kept pushing in search of a second goal, and Foster had to make a superb save to deny Fernandinho from a long way out. The stopper was beaten by Nolito just a few minutes later, but McAuley made a last-second block to keep out the forward.
A second goal seemed inevitable, and it was Aguero again who found the net, this time unleashing a fantastic strike from long range.
BBC Sport's Dan Walker was pleased with his decision to make Aguero captain of his fantasy team:
The Baggies had no answers for City throughout the half, and even with the two-goal advantage, the visitors continued to threaten. Chadli only just managed to intercept a dangerous pass intended for Aguero, and Sterling caused all kinds of problems with a tricky header into the box.
West Brom barely improved to start the second half, and David Silva almost made it 3-0, as his shot deflected off Nolito and went wide. The Spaniard blocked another shot from a team-mate just minutes later, with Gundogan's strike seemingly destined for the back of the net.
BlueMoonRisingTV couldn't help themselves:
West Brom made two substitutions and found some energy to start pressing up the pitch, resulting in their first chance of the half. Claudio Bravo came off his line far too late to clear, but fortunately for the stopper, Salomon Rondon's header bounced wide.
City dealt with the pressure well, although Stones and Fernandinho had some trouble clearing a low cross. The Citizens tried to hit their opponents on the counter, but Jonny Evans returned in time to deal with Sterling's shot.
Chadli fared little better, blasting wide from 25 yards out, as time started to run out for the Baggies.
De Bruyne made his way on to the pitch with 20 minutes left to play, and he immediately created a great chance with Aguero, only for Sterling to lift his shot.
Rondon pushed a promising chance wide of the mark, but it was Gundogan who put the final nail in the coffin, easily converting after a clever pass from Aguero.
Per Goal's Sam Lee, West Brom's offside trap failed them:
McAuley nearly gave the home fans some hope with a hard drive off the post, but his rebound missed the mark and all but ended the contest. There was enough time left for a fourth City goal, however, with Gundogan powering home a cross from De Bruyne.
Unsurprisingly, scorer Gundogan was happy with his contributions:
Manchester City will return to the Etihad Stadium to face Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. West Brom's next outing will be at Leicester City in the Premier League next Sunday.
