Manchester City Extends Winning Run after West Ham Victory
Manchester City extended it’s winning run in the Premier League to 20 straight wins after a 2-1 victory against West Ham at the Etihad Stadium, with goals from defenders Ruben Dias and John Stones.
Sergio Aguero started his first game for City after being out of action since October with an injury. The hosts were on a remarkable 19-game winning streak before the match, and looked to extend the run against a resilient West Ham side.
In the 30th minute, De Bruyne delivered a lovely pass that found Dias, who headed the ball past West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph from close range to put the hosts in the lead.
However, fourth-placed West Ham gave City a decent game at Etihad Stadium and fought back to level through Michail Antonio before the break.
When Aguero lost the ball in his own half, Lingered passed the ball to Pablo Fornals, who found Vladimir Coufal free on the right of the box. Coufal then passed to Jesse Lingered, whose miscued effort fell to Antonio.
The Jamaican tapped the ball into the net from close range to make the scores 1-1 after 43 minutes.
It was the first goal City had conceded in the Premier League at home since December 15 in 2020.
An unfit Aguero lasted barely an hour and was substituted for Gabriel Jesus. However, after West Ham had kept frustrating the league leaders, it was another City defender on the scoresheet halfway through the second half.
After Mahrez had twisted and turned his marker on the right, his low pass was found and swept home beautifully by Stones from 10 yards to give the lead back to City.
The match ended 2-1 as City’s cdefenders took centre stage again, this time at the other end, as they continued their march towards a third title in four years.
Pep Guardiola’s side are also now 27 games unbeaten in all competitions, and lead Manchester United and Leicester by 13 points, having played a game more.
“In this period, in this era, with this situation, to be able to do 20, maybe it is one of greatest achievements we have done in our careers, for sure,” Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said.
“That doesn’t mean a title win, of course, but this period in time, the toughest period in England, the winter time, [to have] no one week of rest for three or four months, every three days a game, with the COVID-19 situation, injury situations.”
“To be on this kind of run – winning, winning, winning – means mental strength,” he added.
Man City will host Wolves on Tuesday evening in the Premier League, while West Ham will face Leeds.
Other Premier League results
West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Leeds United 0-1 Aston Villa
Newcastle 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Chidi Nwoke.
