West Ham United faced the defending champions Manchester City in their own backyard, hoping to get something from the game. In adverse weather conditions in the first half, Manchester City had a lot of the ball and were rewarded with a goal when Mahrez found Gundogan in the back post. City dominated possession, but West Ham held on till the 90th minute in search of an equalizer before Fernandinho coolly slotted his shot past Fabianski to clinch a City win. West Ham got a consolation through Lanzini’s stunning strike with the last kick of the game, but they return empty handed from the Etihad.
Let’s take a look at how each West Ham player performed during the match against Manchester City.
GK: Łukasz Fabiański – 7/10
Fabianski made some decent saves between the sticks and kept West Ham in the game for 90 minutes before Fernandinho scored.
CB: Kurt Zouma – 6/10
Zouma was mostly pinned back by the movement of the City attackers and was kept isolated as City played through the middle.
CB: Craig Dawson – 7/10
Dawson was solid at the back. He was quick to win the ball back from the City players and read the danger well.
LCB: Aaron Cresswell – 7.5/10
Cresswell made some crucial blocks and, importantly, one big goal line clearance to keep City at bay.
RWB: Ben Johnson – 6.5/10
The young fullback defended well as he hardly gave Sterling any space to work with but could have done much better going forward.
CM: Tomas Soucek – 6.5/10
Tomas Soucek misplaced a few passes in the middle of the park but won a lot of duels in the central areas to break down the play.
CM: Declan Rice – 7.5/10
Declan Rice put on a brilliant display as he progressed the ball well and also made as many as 11 ball recoveries in the midfield.
LWB: Arthur Masuaku – 6/10
The wing back got caught out for City’s first goal as Mahrez had acres of space in the right-hand channel to put the ball in.
RAM: Pablo Fornals – 6.5/10
Fornals was neat with his touches and link up plays but didn’t have much space to work with as the City players overloaded on him.
LAM: Said Benrahma – 5.5/10
Benrahma had a disappointing game as he struggled to get past the City defenders and create chances for his teammates.
ST: Michail Antonio – 6/10
Antonio lacked quality in the final third and mainly was kept isolated up the pitch as City were comfortable in possession.
Substitutes:
CAM: Manuel Lanzini – 7.5/10
Lanzini scored a stunning goal with the last kick of the game and gave West Ham some extra bit of energy after coming on.
LW: Vladimir Coufal – 6/10
Coufal did well after coming on in place of Cresswell to keep City at bay.
LB: Jarod Bowen– 6/10
Bowen struggled to get past the City defenders.
