Five Things We Learned: Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United (Premier League) | OneFootball

20 in a row. Unbeaten in 27. These are outrageous figures accumulated by this extraordinary City side.

Off the back of a Wednesday Champions League knockout tie, to a Saturday midday kick off with seven changes, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City still find a way to accrue the three points – extending their lead at the summit of the table to 13 points ahead of Manchester United. Mind the gap some might say.

This was by no means a cut and dry victory. West Ham gave as good as they got and arguably are one of the best sides City have faced during their current winning run. Antonio, Lingard and Coufal caused all sorts of problems and linked up well to draw level before half-time. However, while City were not at the races for large parts of this game, they still found a way to grind out the win.

With that in mind, here are the five things we learned from today’s fixture…

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The forward partnership we never knew we wanted

It’s difficult to find new ways to compliment these two exceptional centre halves. They simply dominated the game throughout, keeping a good line in transition and forcing West Ham’s key players out wide. But when the attack was faltering and lacking the creative bursts needed to break down a stubborn West Ham defensive block, both Dias and Stones found space to convert pretty much our only two big chances on target.

Their partnership has been a pivotal shift this season as we all know. And today’s game more so than any other as West Ham looked sharp on the counter, Dias had a game high six clearances along with Stones winning all five of his defensive duels, demonstrating their superb defensive abilities to read the game and snuff out the opponents’ attacks. Further to that, Antonio’s equaliser was the first goal conceded by City at home since Dias’ own goal against West Brom on the 15th December.

Disjointed FC

Pep elected to make seven changes to the side that started midweek, surprising some (myself included). It did make sense given the quick turnaround from the Mönchengladbach game but was a risk, nonetheless. Yet, the side never really got going in an attacking sense.

West Ham’s stubborn 5-2-3 defensive posture stunted City’s attacking talents. De Bruyne was certainly off the pace, misplacing a plethora of passes while Gundogan remained anonymous for large parts the match. We hemmed Moyes’ side in their own half, but they never appeared troubled by any through balls in behind or penetrative runs from our most dangerous forwards – everything was in front of them.

It did feel like one too many changes with the side crying out for the energy and link up play of a Bernardo Silva or the dynamic thrust of a Phil Foden. That said, it is great to see such a strong squad fit and available for this congested schedule and hopefully with a good hour or more under their belt, they can really kick on in the coming games where squad rotation will be critical.

Wingers against a back five

A lot of City’s attacking play starts and ends with the winger’s dynamism and creativity. But today, Mahrez and Torres never really looked at it or fancied their chances against their opposing full backs. Torres has been out of the side for some time now and it may make sense his rustiness on the ball. However, Mahrez was anonymous for most of the match against what looked like a pretty standard full back in Ben Johnson.

Yet this links back to how we usually fare against a stubborn back five. We need movement and incision, both on and off the ball. Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling provide that skill set, which is why it seemed ominous for their starting berth today given their early removal in midweek. It does feel like Mahrez does get the brunt of the blame more often than not but that comes down to his clear quality. His abundance of talent is there for all to see and we do not see it enough.

And then in one moment Mahrez turns Ben Johnson inside out down the line, cuts back onto his left and expertly picks out John Stones to finish – echoing his brilliant pick out for Sterling’s winner against Arsenal last week. We know Mahrez is exceptional, he just doesn’t show it consistently throughout a match and all we want is for him to explode with endeavour and conviction in the final third as he can beat most full backs in the league 1v1.

KDB rustiness

For a last moan, it was great to see Kevin De Bruyne back on the pitch but by God was he rusty. It was arguably one of his worst games in recent memory, misplacing passes all over the shop. His performance arguably epitomised the team’s play today, disjointed & clunky.

Yet all of that will be rightfully overshadowed by a sublime piece of play. With the game in a somewhat state of comatose, De Bruyne retrieves the ball on the right flank, moving back onto his weaker left foot and drifting in a delightfully arrowed cross into the centre of the box for Ruben Dias to head home with aplomb. It was a cross of world class pedigree, too quick for the keeper to come and collect but with enough touch to fly past the flat-footed West Ham defenders and onto Dias’ head. Even while playing poorly, the Belgian still produces the best piece of magic in the entire match.

Witnessing history

It wasn’t a pretty performance, but this Manchester City side have won twenty matches in a row. TWENTY. The best in British history & third best in European history – only three behind Guardiola’s Bayern. Little old City are up there with Europe’s best ever, churning out results like the truly elite side they are.

Not all games will be electrifying or packed with exuberant quality, but they are filled with determination and grit – the staple of all great sides past and present. Thirteen points clear at the top, an FA Cup quarter final & EFL Cup final on the horizon & one foot in the Champions League Quarter Final, this City team are something special. They have been history makers and record breakers for the past four seasons and don’t let anyone forget it. Long may it continue.

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You can follow Rob on Twitter here: @notherView

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