JuicyTalk
Catch up with all the action from West Ham vs Manchester City in the Premier League
Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes took another damaging blow as West Ham picked up a hard-earned draw at the London Stadium, leaving Pep Guardiola’s side nine points adrift of Arsenal with a game in hand.
City dominated from the off, with Guardiola absent from the touchline serving a touchline ban, but found West Ham’s defensive structure frustratingly difficult to break down.
Erling Haaland, who has scored 11 Premier League goals against the Hammers, was peripheral throughout, managing just 12 touches in the first half.
The breakthrough arrived on 31 minutes when Bernardo Silva collected a pass from Omar Marmoush and clipped a delicate effort over Matz Hermansen. Whether Silva intended it as a shot or a cross mattered little; City had their lead.
West Ham’s response was immediate, though. Within four minutes, Jarrod Bowen swung a corner into the box, Gianluigi Donnarumma came and missed it completely, and Konstantinos Mavropanos headed into an unguarded net off the underside of the bar.
Missed chances cost City
The second half was one-way traffic without a cutting edge. Cherki and Doku were introduced to inject some more urgency for City, but West Ham refused to buckle.
Hermansen denied Haaland superbly after a Cherki through ball, Reijnders crashed a free-kick off the bar, and deep in stoppage time Marc Guehi somehow blazed over from inside the six-yard box with the goal at his mercy. Mavropanos then blocked a Haaland volley with his face to preserve the point.
The result lifts Nuno Espirito Santo’s side out of the relegation zone for the first time since December. City now face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday before a League Cup final against Arsenal at Wembley at the weekend.
