Manchester City 3-0 West Ham United
Premier League, Etihad Stadium, Wednesday 3 May 2023, 8pm BST
West Ham United fell to a 3-0 defeat by Manchester City on Wednesday evening.
With skipper Declan Rice, Nayef Aguerd and Tomáš Souček ruled out due to illness only six hours before kick-off, the Irons battled resolutely at Etihad Stadium to leave the match goalless at the break.
Nathan Aké, however, broke the deadlock with 50 minutes played and the defending champions' pressure told soon after when Erling Haaland added a second midway through the second half.
Phil Foden was the third player to beat Łukasz Fabiański when his volley from a distance flicked off Emerson and found the corner to see the hosts clinch the three points.
While West Ham responded to the late absentees with a determined showing, the hosts’ class ultimately told in Manchester.
Inside the first ten minutes, Fabiański made two strong stops, calmly collecting an effort from Julián Alvarez, before he was tested again when Riyad Mahrez forced a neat save from the edge of the area.
With six goals from their last six fixtures from corners, West Ham’s best chances came from set-pieces in Manchester. Thilo Kehrer was unable to convert a looping free-kick from wide right, before Pablo Fornals sent a whipped set-piece into the area which the Citizens did well to clear.
Later striking wide from close range, Jack Grealish led the City charge through the first 45 minutes. A cross, whipped with the outside of his right boot, was angled to the back post, with the Hammers relieved to see Haaland, a player Angelo Ogbonna marshalled expertly throughout the first 45 expertly, head off-target.
Sat back into a low block for the majority of the first half, the Hammers did spring to life on the counter. A quick throw-in from Vladimír Coufal was controlled beautifully by Jarrod Bowen, who raced into the penalty area only to see his shot blocked by Manchester City stopper Stefan Ortega.
It was Manchester City who went closest with 30 minutes played, however. A neat move saw Rodri collect the ball, nip through the West Ham defence, and see his strike cannon off the inside of the post.
The Hammers’ defence was breached, though, after the break. Just four minutes into the second half, Mahrez whipped a freekick to the back post where Aké, unmarked, headed in the opening goal from close range. A frustrating goal to concede considering how well the Irons had defended up until that point.
City’s second was similarly avoidable. With Ben Johnson and Danny Ings replacing Coufal and Antonio just after the hour mark, the Hammers pushed forward and had a spell of possession, with Paquetá particularly impressing as he drove his side forward.
The hosts though pounced on a sloppy pass from Ings and killed the game clinically. Grealish drove forward and delayed the pass to free Haaland. The No9, who netted a brace in the reverse fixture, chipped Fabiański to add his side’s second.
With five minutes remaining, West Ham half cleared a corner which Foden volleyed, with the aid of a deflection off Emerson, into the corner. City had a third. And it was game over.
Fornals led the push for a late consolation. He attempted an ambitious strike from the halfway line and later was crowded out when looking to strike from inside the area.
In the end, the Hammers were unable to trouble Ortega after City’s third and slipped to defeat. West Ham will hope to have more success against the red side of Manchester in four days' time.
Manchester City: Ortega, Walker ©, Stones, Dias, Ake (Akanji 76), Rodri (Phillips 90+1), Bernardo Silva, Grealish, Mahrez, Haaland, Alvarez (Foden 76)
Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Laporte, Gomez, Lewis, Gundogan, Perrone
Goals: Ake 49 Haaland 70 Foden 85
West Ham United: Fabiański, Coufal (Johnson 61), Kehrer, Ogbonna, Cresswell ©, Emerson, Bowen (Benrahma 79), Downes, Paquetá, Fornals, Antonio (Ings 67)
Subs not used: Areola (GK), Anang (GK), Lanzini, Cornet, Benrahma
Booked: Downes
Referee: John Brooks
Attendance: 53,305
