West Ham vs. Manchester City: Score and Reaction from 2017 Premier League Match

Manchester City returned to winning ways emphatically in the Premier League as they thrashed West Ham United 4-0 at London Stadium on Wednesday.

First-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Gabriel Jesus—in his maiden Premier League start—put City into a deserved 3-0 lead before the break.

The visitors continued to dominate in a subdued second half, and Yaya Toure added a fourth from the spot soon after the hour mark.

It was a welcome return to form for City, whose last league win had come at Burnley on January 2.

Both clubs provided their starting lineups before kick-off:

Striker Sergio Aguero and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo were notable absentees from manager Pep Guardiola's starting XI.

Bravo's replacement between the posts, Willy Caballero, was called into action early on, comfortably saving Michail Antonio's long-range effort.

It was notable, though, given Bravo's recent save drought:

Antonio looked to be the sharpest player on the pitch in the opening exchanges of the match as West Ham tried to make an early breakthrough.

But De Bruyne opened the scoring for the visitors in the 17th minute, finishing from the edge of the box after a neat exchange with Jesus.

The Belgium international was gifted the ball on the halfway line after a slack pass from Aaron Cresswell, and he drove toward the area and swept a fine finish home after receiving a perfect return ball from Jesus.

Four minutes later, Silva doubled City's lead, finishing into an open net after Leroy Sane squared across the box following a marauding run down the left, and West Ham were left reeling, per The Times' Henry Winter:

City looked irresistible, and Jesus put his new club ahead 3-0 six minutes from the break, tapping in from close range following excellent buildup play from Sane and Raheem Sterling.

Understandably, City's level dropped after half-time, but West Ham could still get no handle on the match in an uneventful opening to the second period.

After 66 minutes, Hammers debutant Jose Fonte took down Sterling in the area to concede a penalty, and Toure tucked a finish into the corner from the spot.

In front of a rapidly emptying stadium in east London, City comfortably played out the last 20 minutes for a convincing win that saw them move level on points with fourth-place Liverpool in the Premier League.

Post-Match Reaction

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The two managers cast almost opposite figures in their post-match press conferences, with Guardiola understandably more spirited than West Ham counterpart Slaven Bilic in the wake of a monstrous victory.

However, Guardiola remained stoic when asked if the win revived his side's hopes of winning this year's Premier League title, per the Telegraph's Matt Law:

"

He doesn't have to be too worried about what he saw today. He's 10 points in front of us. Only Chelsea can lose the Premier League.

Only Chelsea can lose it. Look at how many they've lost in the last 16. They're not going to lose four or five in the games they have left. But anything can happen in football. You have to be there trying to win our own games. After that, if the opponents don't win, that's better. We are not thinking about big goals at the moment because the gap is too much.

"

Bilic, on the other hand, described his team's comeback attempt as "mission impossible" after finding themselves three goals down at the break, per Vaishali Bhardwaj of the London Evening Standard:

The Hammers' mood will be dented by such a one-sided defeat, but Bilic found cause for promise as his side now prepare for an away trip to Southampton on Saturday, per Bhardwaj:

"It's not the first [defeat] this season, but after every one of them, we bounced back. We have to do it now. The good thing is we have another opportunity in three days time. We can't let this game affect us and the good work we have done recently."