City's title hopes hit after Hammers blow

The Blues looked to be on our way to three points when Bernardo Silva opened the scoring just past the half-hour.

But the Hammers levelled shortly after and then defended resolutely throughout the second half to hold on and claim a valuable point in their battle against relegation.

With Arsenal beating Everton earlier in the day, it leaves City nine points adrift with a game in hand over the Gunners.

The game in 250 words

City started in confident style, dominating possession without testing West Ham keeper Mads Hermansen.

The home side defended deep with every man behind the ball to frustrate the Blues and try and counter when the opportunity arose.

It was a frustrating watch until the 31st minute when Bernardo received the ball on the left of the box before dinking a shot/cross over the goalkeeper and into the net to make it 1-0.

But there was less than four minutes to enjoy that lead before City conceded a disappointing equaliser.

A straightforward corner by Jarrod Bowen found the head of Konstantinos Mavropanos who, unchallenged, nodded the ball in off the underside of the crossbar and over the line.

City brought on Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku on the hour-mark and Cherki immediately fed Erling Haaland who saw a low shot just tipped around the post by Hermansen.

The Blues continued to dominate without really creating any clearcut chances until Tijjani Reijnders saw a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar by Hermansen on 83 minutes.

Haaland again went close on 88 but failed to connect clearly and Marc Guéhi blazed over from close range with what proved to be our final chance of the game.

The stats don’t lie and with 24 shots to West Ham’s one - which resulted in a goal - it was just our finishing and a fine goalkeeper display that prevented a deserved victory for Guardiola’s men.

The draw leaves City with a sizeable challenge to catch the Gunners in the weeks that remain, though not insurmountable, and one we are capable of achieving.

TEAMS

West Ham United:  Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Todibo, Diouf, Soucek, Fernandes, Bowen (Kante 90+6), Pablo (Magassa 64), Taty (Traore 75)

Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Wilson, Potts, Mayers

CITY:  Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guéhi, Ait-Nouri (Doku 60), Rodrigo, Bernardo (Reijnders 75), O’Reilly, Marmoush (Cherki 60) , Semenyo (Foden 74), Haaland

Subs: Trafford, Dias, Ake, Kovacic, Nico

blues will keep going

If any team knows about never giving up, it is Manchester City.

The odds are stacked against the Blues, but with a game in hand and a home game against the Gunners still to come, that gap could be cut to three points.

City will believe anything is possible, but we can ill-afford anymore dropped points in the games that remain.

Pep GUARDIOLA reaction

“Football is unpredictable. They have one chance and score one goal, but it’s happened in the past.

“Always this season we’ve had a team that’s controlled many aspects, but we were not able to score three or four.

“I remember Sunderland on the first of January; we play outstanding and created chances. Then after against Chelsea, then Brighton, and today.

“What can I say to the team? We have to be better in the final third and we didn’t do it, that’s all. It’s happened in many games this season.”

Rodri reaction

“I’m disappointed, but at the same time I’m proud of my team-mates. We tried everything but in the end I think it’s been the turning of this season.

“It’s not enough at this level you have to put the ball in the net and it’s what we’re missing. There’s no point in dropping our heads.

“It’s a moment to recover the mentality to go again and that we have good things to fight for. We know that it might be difficult, but at home we are strong.”

		Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1		Arsenal Arsenal	32	21	7	4	62	24	38	70
2		Manchester City Man City	31	19	7	5	63	28	35	64
3		Manchester United Man United	32	15	10	7	57	45	12	55

What it means...

City remain second in the Premier League, but Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton means we are now nine points adrift of the Gunners.

The Blues have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s side and still have to play Arsenal at the Etihad next month.

What’s next?

City face a pivotal week in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup.

The Blues host Real Madrid on Tuesday, 17 March in the Round of 16 second leg.

We trail the Spaniards 3-0 from the first leg and the game kicks off at 20:00 (UK).

Then it’s off to Wembley to face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.

The showpiece clash with the Gunners is on Sunday 22 March and will kick-off at 16:30 (UK).

Watch City v Real Madrid from hospitality!

See the latest instalment of a European classic in style!

Two of the best sides in the world lock horns again, with this year’s Round of 16 tie to be decided at the Etihad on Tuesday 17 March.

And you can be at the game, watching from one of our exclusive hospitality spaces!

With padded seats and an array of food and drink options, there’s something for every budget.

Check out our range of premium experiences below! 

Enquire about hospitality here