Match Report and Player Ratings: West Ham 1-3 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City maintained their 100 per cent winning start to the new Premier League season with an impressive 1-3 victory over West Ham at the London Stadium.

It was an opening period of possessional dominance from the blues, forcing West Ham back instantly before carving out a couple of huge early chances.

The champions started in swift fashion, forcing a couple of early saves out of Alphonse Areola, after Rodri’s header from a corner was saved, before Erling Haaland redirected an effort which was somehow stopped on the line.

Manchester City continued their relentless start down the left, as Josko Gvardiol broke through before firing a ball across the box, putting it on a plate for Haaland – who somehow could not find the target.

The early threat seemed to be coming down the left for the blues, as Jeremy Doku continued to give his counterpart Vladimir Coufal a torrid time, as the Belgian beat his man before unleashing a tame effort into the middle of the goal.

The threat of the home side remained despite the Manchester City dominance, as West Ham counter-attacked through Emerson Palmieri before feeding James Ward-Prowse, who forced a save from Ederson.

It was then James Ward-Prowse who found the opening goal, as the Irons countered down the right, before Coufal crossed into ‘JWP’ who was free in the penalty area, heading home and giving West Ham the lead.

The ever-growing threat of Doku returned however, as the Belgian created another huge chance, dancing round the West Ham defence before teeing up Haaland, who once again failed to convert from close range.

Despite having the majority of possession it was the home side who lead at the break, with James Ward-Prowse’s effort being the difference maker as West Ham went into the break 1-0 up.

Manchester City emerged for the second half and found themselves level just 43 seconds after the restart, finding the explosive Jeremy Doku, who shifted the ball onto his right foot before finding the far corner, levelling the score.

The pressure mounted in the form of a Julian Alvarez free-kick, as the Argentine fired his effort against the woodwork from 30 yards out, as the champions began suffocating their opponents.

It was an unrelenting period from Manchester City, as Rodri lofted the ball into Haaland who improvised acrobatically, forcing yet another save from Areola in the West Ham goal.

Once again Haaland found himself in a dangerous area, as he was picked out by Bernardo Silva, but the Norwegian could not guide his header past Areola who continued to hold his own.

The home side reminded Manchester City of their threat from set pieces as a James Ward-Prowse corner met the head of Kurt Zouma, who leapt highest and forced an astonishing save from Ederson, keeping the scores level.

A brilliant second half of chances continued, as it was Josko Gvardiol this time who fired an effort on his weaker right foot, forcing yet another save from the West Ham goalkeeper.

Finally the champions found a breakthrough, as Julian Alvarez scooped the ball into the path of Bernardo Silva, who tapped the ball past Areola and gave Manchester City a more than deserved lead.

City slowed the game down following the goal until Kyle Walker sprinted down the right latching on to a Bernardo Silva pass, before crossing to Erling Haaland who had another shot denied by Areola.

It was relief for Haaland eventually, who finally found his goal. After being slipped through by Bernardo Silva, the Norway international made no mistake this time, lashing the ball past Alphonse Areola.

The scoring finished there, as Manchester City emerged from the London Stadium as 1-3 victors on Saturday afternoon. With that being said, here’s how we rated the individual player performances from the encounter with West Ham!

Player Ratings

Ederson – 7

Made a couple of crucial saves when called into action, most notably denying a brilliant header by Kurt Zouma.

Kyle Walker – 6.5

Caught sleeping for the West Ham opener, but otherwise a solid display from Kyle Walker after his two-year contract extension midweek.

Ruben Dias – 7

Another calm and composed display at the back from Ruben Dias, who lead by example and ensured the blues saw the game out after going ahead.

Manuel Akanji – 5

It was a difficult afternoon for Manuel Akanji who struggled up against Michail Antonio for large parts of the game.

Josko Gvardiol – 7

Similar to Dias, Josko Gvardiol looked comfortable throughout the game, emphasising why he was such a shrewd bit of business this summer after arriving from RB Leipzig.

Rodrigo – 7.5

A typically brilliant performance from Rodri, who dictated play throughout.

Bernardo Silva – 7.5

Demonstrated exactly why he was imperative to keep this summer with another excellent display. The Portuguese star was instrumental in the build-up, creating one and scoring one for himself in an excellent outing.

Phil Foden – 6.5

A standard display from Phil Foden who looked threatening in the first half, before being replaced by Matheus Nunes in the second.

Julian Alvarez – 8

The Argentine showcased his quality throughout the match, pressing from the front and being a focal point of creativity. Two assists for Alvarez as a reward for his exemplary contributions.

Erling Haaland – 6.5

It wasn’t quite his afternoon, which is a strange statement considering he managed to grab a goal. It was relief all round as he finally converted. On another day, he could’ve left with the match ball.

Jeremy Doku – 9 (MOTM)

An electric performance from the dynamite winger. The Belgian showcased his quality in abundance, giving Vladimir Coufal a torrid time all afternoon.

Substitutes

Matheus Nunes – 6

A tidy looking debut for Matheus Nunes, who didn’t make a notable impact but looked comfortable in possession after replacing Phil Foden in the second half.

Sergio Gomez – N/A

Nathan Ake – N/A

Rico Lewis – N/A

Oscar Bobb – N/A