Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United: 5 Talking Points as Blues continue winning run | Premier League 2021-22
Manchester City continued their winning ways in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at home over West Ham United on Sunday. Pep Guardiola's men were coming off a mid-week victory against star-studded PSG in the UEFA Champions League.
Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring against West Ham in the 33rd minute. City looked to extend their lead, but could only do so in the 90th minute, thanks to Fernandinho.
Manchester City looked set to end the game with a clean sheet. But Manuel Lanzini's wonder strike with virtually the last kick of the game meant West Ham reduced the arrears.
The best of the action from our victory over the Hammers! 🎥
#ManCity https://t.co/IYDJeVS820
Nevertheless, with the win, the holders moved joint-atop the league table before Chelsea moved a point ahead with a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in a late kick-off.
On that note, here are the five talking points from the City-West Ham game:
#5 Lightning strikes twice for Manuel Lanzini
Last year, Manuel Lanzini came off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur, and scored the goal of the season contender with the last kick of the game. That helped West Ham complete a comeback from 3-0 down.
Against Manchester City on Sunday, Lanzini once again came off the bench, this time with West Ham 1-0 down. In the 94th minute, City were attempting to clear their lines with Fernandinho. But Lanzini won back possession and scored a belter from outside the box.
Final kick is a special from Lanzini, #MCIWHU https://t.co/6nIDKFvNQr
However, this time it was too little too late, as City were already 2-0 ahead. Nevertheless, that takes nothing away from the quality of Lanzini's strike. It was a sumptuous finish.
#4 Failure to convert early chances haunts West Ham against Manchester City
It is no secret that once Pep Guardiola's men get into their stride, it is near impossible for any team to stop them. However, they had hiccups at the start of the game, which gave West Ham a sniff at their goal.
Michail Antonio beautifully turned on the outside of Ruben Dias and dished a low ball in for Said Benrahma. However, he got the connection and positioning wrong. Antonio himself had a header which he could have taken in a 50/50 with Ruben Dias. Aaron Cresswell then put a free-kick won by Antonio into the side netting, looking for a cheeky goal rather than trying to pick a teammate out.
All these chances were in the first half, which they failed to make count. Two of them came before 25 minutes were on the clock. In the second half, City barely gave West Ham a sniff.
It can also be pointed out that David Moyes' decision to bench Jarrod Bowen was a strange one.