Football Update: Manchester City Wins as West Ham United Continue To Struggle
It was a battle between the team in the top four of the English Premier League, i.e. Manchester City, and another team battling in the relegation zone. West Ham United hosted Manchester City at Upton Park looking for a win and a move up from the bottom of
the table. City, on the contrary, needed this win to be level on points with Arsenal, at top of the table. In the end, it was City that emerged victorious, with the margin of 3-1, in an affair completely dominated by them.
West Ham United must feel that they should have done better against a team like City, which seems to be in complete disarray at the moment. There have been quite a few incidents now that indicate that Manchester City needs something to hold on to their squad.
Carlos Tevez, the captain of the squad, was involved in a bust up with his manager Roberto Mancini. Also, Mario Balotelli had some disagreement with his teammate Jerome Boateng, in a practice session. Still, the players looked professional once they came on
the pitch, putting behind all the differences and problems.
Yaya Toure scored the opener and was involved in the second goal, giving City the strong hold in the match. Adam Johnson scored the third goal in the last ten minutes to complete the victory for his team. West Ham had a late consolation goal scored by James
Tomkins, but it was not enough for the struggling London side.
The captain of Manchester City and the former West Ham player, Carlos Tevez, was missing the match because of suspension. Therefore, Mancini had the Brazilian Jo and Mario Balotelli as the two forwards for the match. Yaya Toure, Gareth Bale and David Silva
were present in the midfield, while James Milner and Adam Johnson were left on the bench. It was a strong side put forward by Mancini who did not really need to take any chances.
It was a poor performance by the Hammers who only had 38% of the possession in the match. In the course of the whole match, West Ham had only three shots on target, one of them resulting in a goal. Manchester City, on the other hand, enjoyed most of the
possession in the midfield and had plenty of chances as well. Even before the first goal, City had a few chances to take the lead. Mario Balotelli found himself in a scoring position as well, but he missed his shot from a low cross.
The visitors took the lead around the half hour mark, through Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure. Barry played a pass back to the Ivory Coast midfielder who fired the shot home for the opener. The first half ended on this score line, while the home side had seldom
any moments when they threatened the visitors.
The second half also started good for City as they kept on attacking in search of the second goal. Yaya Toure looked the most threatening of the City players as he got some saves out of the opposition goalkeeper. Mario Balotelli was removed around the hour
mark and he was replaced by Adam Johnson. The second goal came in the 73rd minute for City, as Toure’s shot hit the pole and was deflected back into the goal by the goalkeeper Robert Green. Later on, with ten minutes on the clock, David Silva found
Adam Johnson who wrapped things up for City with the third of the night. There was a late consolation for the Hammers but it was a comfortable victory for City, in the end.
West Ham United remains on the bottom of the table with a relegation battle on their hands. Manchester City, on the contrary, is level on points with Arsenal, with the latter still having a match in hand. In short, it was a great victory for City who really
has a chance now to go on top of the table.
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