Premier League
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City 

Wednesday, 1st February 2017
by Staff Writer

West Ham were humbled and humiliated for the second time in a matter of weeks at the hands of Manchester City at the Olympic Stadium tonight.

Beaten 5-0 in the third round of the FA Cup at the beginning of January, the Hammers were a whisker away from repeating that record home defeat at their new stadium tonight.

West Ham had barely seen the ball before the rout began on 17 minutes; Aaron Cresswell conceded possession cheaply allowing the visitors to counter, leading to Kevin De Bruyne applying a simple finish.




And a shellshocked United barely had time to recover before the Citizens doubled their lead; this time it was left to David Silva to convert Leroy Sane's deflected centre.

The rest of the opening half followed a similar pattern with West Ham seemingly attempting to hold on to a two-goal deficit, showing little in terms of attacking intention.

If that was indeed the plan then it failed miserably, as new boy Gabriel Jesus was able to celebrate a first goal for his new club - converting Raheem Stirling's low cross with Darren Randolph once again unable to intervene - to leave West Ham facing a three-goal deficit at the break.




Any faint hopes of a repeat of the Scott Parker-inspired come back against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns back in 2011 were dashed when City added insult to injury by adding a fourth midway through the second period.

New signing Jose Fonte had endured a difficult night up to that point but it got a whole lot worse when he was adjudged to have tripped Stirling inside the penalty area, allowing Yaya Toure to make it 4-0 from the ensuing spot kick.




In fairness to the Portuguese defender, contact was minimal and its impact embarrassingly overplayed by the City player whose 'professionalism' might have won his team a penalty, but few friends.

By the time Toure's penalty hit the back of the net, the Olympic Stadium was almost a third empty; the fans, like the players simply seemed to lose interest on another miserable night in Stratford.



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Player Ratings

Darren Randolph
Didn't get close to a single one of City's four strikes. Apart from picking the ball out of his net several times, he had few saves of note to make.


Sam Byram
Another harsh lesson for Byram; the hope is that these experiences will serve him well in the long run.


Aaron Cresswell
On a downward spiral since being selected for England and given a torris time again tonight.


Winston Reid
Gave his all, came up short against a very good side.


Jose Fonte
If you search for 'baptism of fire' on the web, don't be surprised to find a reference to Fonte's debut.


Pedro Obiang
All over the shop tonight. Hopefullt just a blip following some very decent showings of late.


Michail Antonio
The one player likely to light up the OS on an otherwise dull and dreary night.


Mark Noble
Anonymous, spent much of the night chasing shadows.


Andy Carroll
Huffed and puffed and threw himself around with wild abandon as per, but came up against not only a very good opponent but one of those referees who has no time for physical forwards (see Carlton Cole).


Manuel Lanzini
Bar one chance in the first half, he was invisible.


Sofiane Feghouli
His night was summed up by the one chance he had to deliver a probing cross - which he shinned straight out for a goal kick instead. Woeful, offered nothing.



Substitutes

Edimilson Fernandes
(Replaced Feghouli) Tasked with rescuing a sunken ship.


Robert Snodgrass
(Replaced Obiang) The scond debutant of the evening, Snodgrass gave glimpses of what he could potentially offer.


Ashley Fletcher
(Replaced Carroll) Tasked with rescuing a sunken ship.


Adrian San Miguel Del Castillo
Did not play.


James Collins
Did not play.


Domingos Quina
Did not play.


Jonathan Calleri
Did not play.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Darren Randolph, Sam Byram, Aaron Cresswell, Winston Reid, Jose Fonte, Pedro Obiang, Michail Antonio, Mark Noble, Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini, Sofiane Feghouli.

Goals: None.

Booked: Pedro Obiang  Manuel Lanzini  Andy Carroll       .

Sent Off: None sent off.     .

Manchester City: Cabellero; Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov; Toure; Silva (Delph 80), Sane, De Bruyne (Fernandinho 67), Sterling (Aguero 73); Jesus.

Subs not used: Bravo, Zabaleta, Kompany, Navas.

Goals: n/a.

Booked: De Bruyne (44), Sterling (60), Jesus (19).

Sent off: None.

Referee: Kevin Friend.

Attendance: 50,000.

Man of the Match: Michail Antonio.