Premier League
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Manchester City 2-1 West Ham: Ilkay Gundogan & Fernandinho goals send Pep Guardiola's side second

By Simon StoneBBC Sport at Etihad Stadium
Ilkay Gundogan scores for Man City
Gundogan's goal was the German's third in the Premier League this season

Manchester City midfield pair Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandino were on target as Pep Guardiola's Premier League superiority over West Ham continued.

City have now won 10 of 11 top-flight meetings with the Hammers under the Spaniard.

In a game played in a snow-storm before half-time, skipper Gundogan provided the decisive moment after 33 minutes when he turned home a deflected Riyad Mahrez effort at the far-post.

It was the Germany midfielder's third goal of the season - and his second in four league games - and was followed up in the final minute by Fernandinho, who had only been introduced three minutes earlier to tie the game up.

The veteran Brazilian had not scored a Premier League goal since October 2018 but found the target from the edge of the box.

Manuel Lanzini pulled one back with the final kick of the game, which cost Ederson his 100th clean sheet in all competitions but did nothing to prevent City moving back into second spot, six points clear of the Hammers.

The Londoners remain fourth despite suffering successive Premier League defeats for the first time since April.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola, said: "The amount of chances we created, especially in the first half, in the conditions that both teams played in - it was a huge victory for us, for the effort of the players and the performance.

"We didn't concede much. We defended the set-pieces really well and counter-attacks we controlled.

"We could maybe make another speed, another rhythm but weather conditions didn't allow us to do it and it was a good performance from us."

Weather main threat to City win

Riyad Mahrez
The second half was delayed by almost 10 minutes so snow could be cleared from the pitch

Guardiola offered special thanks to head groundsman Lee Jackson and his team for this latest victory.

As half-time approached with heavy snow falling on a pitch already covered in it, there was a real fear the game might not reach its conclusion.

Yet Jackson and his colleagues got to work and with the aid of a half-time interval extended by referee Michael Oliver by five minutes, and the surface was clear again when the game restarted, by which time the snow had stopped.

Guardiola said: "I think the groundkeepers, the men who took care of the pitch, were the men of the match. They did an incredible job so we could play the game today."

Jackson's reward was an effective home display, even if it was some way short of show-stopper.

West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski denied Gundogan a second and Bernardo Silva's excellent chipped finish counted for nothing thanks to an offside flag.

And Ederson, whose only significant save was turning away a fierce Declan Rice shot, was denied his personal milestone with a goal out of virtually nothing from Lanzini, when West Ham had no time to even think about an equaliser.

'Magnificent' Man City players have not let their levels drop - Guardiola

Below-par Hammers

Despite losing 22 out of 25 previous away games against the defending champions, West Ham can rarely have gone into such a fixture in more optimistic mood.

Yet they never really got going.

Fabianski was booed by the City fans inside the opening 10 minutes for apparent time-wasting and the experienced Poland goalkeeper was soon earning the wrath of David Moyes for a fluffed clearance that would have resulted in a goal had Mahrez not been offside when Raheem Sterling's block landed at his feet.

Arthur Masuaku's selection ahead of Jarrod Bowen was supposed to provide more protection down the West Ham left flank but City's array of attacking talent just found spaces elsewhere.

Ben Johnson's goalline clearance to deny Mahrez, who also hit the outside of the post, before half-time was followed up by Aaron Cresswell bravely sliding in to turn Gabriel Jesus' goal-bound effort away for a corner. It was effectively Cresswell's final contribution as he continued into the post with such force he needed to be replaced by Vladimir Coufal after hurting his back.

It made no fundamental difference to the flow of the game and West Ham will be thankful for the failings of others that their position in the table remains as it was.

West Ham always in the game against Man City - Moyes

What's next?

Manchester City's next Premier League game is at Aston Villa on Wednesday, 1 December (20:15 GMT). West Ham entertain Brighton at London Stadium on the same day (19:30 GMT).

Player of the match

RiceDeclan Rice

with an average of 6.69

Manchester City

  1. Squad number8Player nameGündogan
    Average rating

    6.63

  2. Squad number20Player nameBernardo Silva
    Average rating

    6.61

  3. Squad number25Player nameFernandinho
    Average rating

    6.59

  4. Squad number27Player nameJoão Cancelo
    Average rating

    6.53

  5. Squad number26Player nameMahrez
    Average rating

    6.34

  6. Squad number9Player nameGabriel Jesus
    Average rating

    6.26

  7. Squad number16Player nameRodri
    Average rating

    6.22

  8. Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias
    Average rating

    6.21

  9. Squad number2Player nameWalker
    Average rating

    6.20

  10. Squad number31Player nameEderson
    Average rating

    6.10

  11. Squad number14Player nameLaporte
    Average rating

    6.07

  12. Squad number7Player nameSterling
    Average rating

    5.73

West Ham United

  1. Squad number41Player nameRice
    Average rating

    6.69

  2. Squad number10Player nameLanzini
    Average rating

    6.48

  3. Squad number1Player nameFabianski
    Average rating

    6.22

  4. Squad number9Player nameAntonio
    Average rating

    6.21

  5. Squad number22Player nameBenrahma
    Average rating

    6.15

  6. Squad number31Player nameJohnson
    Average rating

    6.10

  7. Squad number4Player nameZouma
    Average rating

    6.10

  8. Squad number15Player nameDawson
    Average rating

    6.06

  9. Squad number3Player nameCresswell
    Average rating

    6.04

  10. Squad number20Player nameBowen
    Average rating

    6.00

  11. Squad number8Player nameFornals
    Average rating

    5.98

  12. Squad number28Player nameSoucek
    Average rating

    5.92

  13. Squad number5Player nameCoufal
    Average rating

    5.84

  14. Squad number26Player nameMasuaku
    Average rating

    5.69

Line-ups

Man City

Formation 4-3-3

  • 31Ederson
  • 2Walker
  • 3Rúben Dias
  • 14LaporteBooked at 29mins
  • 27CanceloBooked at 61mins
  • 8Gündogan
  • 16Rodri
  • 20Bernardo Silva
  • 9Gabriel Jesus
  • 26Mahrez
  • 7SterlingSubstituted forFernandinhoat 87'minutes

Substitutes

  • 5Stones
  • 6Aké
  • 11Zinchenko
  • 13Steffen
  • 25Fernandinho
  • 33Carson
  • 80Palmer
  • 87McAtee

West Ham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Fabianski
  • 31Johnson
  • 15Dawson
  • 4Zouma
  • 3CresswellSubstituted forCoufalat 61'minutes
  • 28Soucek
  • 41Rice
  • 8Fornals
  • 22BenrahmaSubstituted forLanziniat 59'minutes
  • 26MasuakuSubstituted forBowenat 74'minutes
  • 9Antonio

Substitutes

  • 5Coufal
  • 7Yarmolenko
  • 10Lanzini
  • 11Vlasic
  • 13Areola
  • 16Noble
  • 20Bowen
  • 23Diop
  • 33Král
Referee:
Michael Oliver
Attendance:
53,245

Match Stats

Home TeamMan CityAway TeamWest Ham
Possession
Home69%
Away31%
Shots
Home19
Away5
Shots on Target
Home9
Away3
Corners
Home8
Away4
Fouls
Home7
Away6

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Manchester City 2, West Ham United 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Manchester City 2, West Ham United 1.

  3. Goal!

    Goal! Manchester City 2, West Ham United 1. Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner.

  4. Post update

    Attempt missed. Tomas Soucek (West Ham United) header from the right side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Vladimir Coufal.

  5. Post update

    Foul by Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City).

  6. Post update

    Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  7. Post update

    Offside, Manchester City. Fernandinho tries a through ball, but Bernardo Silva is caught offside.

  8. Goal!

    Goal! Manchester City 2, West Ham United 0. Fernandinho (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan.

  9. Post update

    Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Ben Johnson.

  10. Substitution

    Substitution, Manchester City. Fernandinho replaces Raheem Sterling.

  11. Post update

    Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by João Cancelo.

  12. Post update

    Kyle Walker (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  13. Post update

    Foul by Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United).

  14. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Rúben Dias (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Riyad Mahrez with a cross.

  15. Post update

    Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Pablo Fornals.

  16. Post update

    Attempt saved. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.

  17. Post update

    Attempt saved. Declan Rice (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Pablo Fornals.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Rúben Dias (Manchester City).

  19. Post update

    Michail Antonio (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  20. Post update

    João Cancelo (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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