Stones & Dias come up trumps against impressive West Ham to extend Man City’s winning run to 20 games
Last Updated: February 27, 2021 10:11 pm
Man City vs West Ham
Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off played out a short time ago.
The clash saw league leaders Manchester City welcome West Ham to the Etihad.
City headed into the meeting in simply sensational form, looking to make it 20 wins in a row across all competitions.
West Ham, though, were never likely to prove pushovers, having been in fine form themselves of late.
Who needs a striker?
The first 45 was fairly competitive, with a much-changed City not looking quite as deadly as we have seen in recent weeks.
The Sky Blues, though, nevertheless opened the scoring in the tie, when a fine cross from the returning Kevin De Bruyne found Ruben Dias, who powered his header past Darren Randolph:
What a ball that is from Kevin De Bruyne! 🎯
Rúben Dias has his first Man City goal and the home side lead West Ham 👊 pic.twitter.com/IITOyK2UHh
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 27, 2021
To their credit, though, West Ham continued to get at the Citizens, and were eventually rewarded with a goal shortly before the interval.
The Hammers found the most joy down their right-hand side. And, after managing to beat the City press, Vladimir Coufal found Jesse Lingard, who picked out Michail Antonio in the City box:
🎯 West Ham’s Michail Antonio is the first opposing player to score a goal from open play against Man City at Etihad Stadium in 12 PL games since Leicester’s James Maddison on September 27 pic.twitter.com/OXmNp5uDCK
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) February 27, 2021
Despite looking fairly unhappy on the touchline towards the end of the first 45, Pep Guardiola did not make any changes at the break.
The opening exchanges of the second half were very much end-to-end, with a marauding Kevin De Bruyne run, which saw him cut the ball back into space in the West Ham box, the best chance for either team.
This was followed shortly after by Sergio Aguero, who has also just returned from injury, being replaced by Gabriel Jesus on the hour-mark. Pep Guardiola then called for Phil Foden just minutes later.
These changes, in turn, gave City a new lease of life, with the Manchester powerhouse having enjoyed much more possession, whilst pinning the Londoners back.
In turn, the hosts retook the lead a short time later, as another centre-back came up trumps. Riyad Mahrez picked the ball up out wide, before coming inside and picking out John Stones, who coolly slotted past Randolph:
First Dias, now Stones! 🤜🤛
Man City’s CB pairing are producing the goods at the other end too! ⚽️⚽️
A great finish! pic.twitter.com/xh8PTlWpHd
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 27, 2021
4 – No Premier League defender has scored more goals in all competitions this season than John Stones (4), with all four of his strikes coming in 2021. Resolution. #MCIWHU pic.twitter.com/IPhvFrtgX3
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 27, 2021
City were largely able to control the game from here on in, holding out for a 2-1 win and their 20th in a row across all competitions.
The victory also saw the Citizens extend their lead atop the Premier League to 13 points, until Sunday at least.
After Guardiola’s men managed to pick up a win against this in-form West Ham side whilst not being at their best, it looks unlikely that any other team will be able to catch them, as City charge towards their 3rd league title in four years.
See also: Chelsea vs Manchester United betting tips: Preview, predictions & odds
Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley betting tips: Preview, predictions & odds
This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 32 | 44 | 74 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 31 | 27 | 63 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 31 | 18 | 56 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 31 | 12 | 55 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 31 | 19 | 54 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 31 | 17 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 30 | 3 | 48 |
| 9 | Arsenal FC | 31 | 8 | 45 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 31 | -19 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 31 | -17 | 36 |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 31 | -5 | 33 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 31 | -17 | 33 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 31 | -19 | 32 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 31 | -31 | 24 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 31 | -38 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 9 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Holgate, Mason | Everton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
