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Manchester City hosted West Ham and both have been in a fine form of late. It's a tricky tie for West Ham because in 11 attempts they haven't won Manchester City. They drew twice and lost 9 times. Guardiola also oversaw his 500th career win in the top flight. What a classy coach he is.
West Ham has broken into the top 4 while City seems to be running away with the title. A win would take them 13 points clear and they won even though Manchester United's draw with Chelsea cut it down to 12 points. 12 points is a lot where the Premier League is concerned.
Ederson almost gifted West Ham the lead in the 5th minute when his pass to Fernandinho was chased down by Soucek. That must be a relief for the goalkeeper. In the 19th minute, Antonio put pressure on Ederson and he couldn't get a hold of the ball and it fell to Lingard at the side of the post but he was unable to do much with it.
City hadn't done much up to this point and you can excuse them with the points they have gathered and the Champions League game they had just a few days before this game.
De Bruyne recently returned into the fold from injury and his creativity and vision can never be in doubt. He delivered a lovely ball into the box in the 29th minute and Ruben Dias perfectly connected to it to nod the ball home for his first goal for Manchester City. He had been hoping to score with I'm a series of opportunities he had in previous games and finally, his persistence paid off. It was an inch-perfect delivery with a good end product too. City went ahead, 1-0.
Antonio should have gotten his side back into the game in the 39th minute when a ball graciously fell to him. He connected with the ball but was unlucky to see his effort clip the outer side of the post but in the 43rd minute, he quickly got on the end of a lovely Lingard effort and diverted the ball home to draw his side level, 1-1.
City showed their title credentials in the 68th minute when Zichencko found Mahrez at the edge of the box. With his dazzling feet, he managed to get the ball into the box where John Stones was waiting to pounce. He expertly with just one touch, hit the ball into the back of the net to restore City's one-goal advantage.
With the last kick of the game looming, Lingard delivered a ball into the box and Antonio headed it to the far post but Soucek was unable to get there quickly to tap in. West Ham would feel that was their chance to get something out of the game but it wasn't taken.
The game ended 2-1 in favour of City who is leading the title charge. The two defenders for City gave them the win on the day and the partnership they have formed at the back also translated into the two of them scoring again on the same day. It was not the best performance for City but that's what is expected of winners, grinding out the results even on your off days.
That was Manchester City's 27th game unbeaten and they are setting the bar too high already.
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