After, a miserable midweek collapse in Moscow, City returned to domestic action with a disappointing defeat at the hands of West Ham. City were below par and deservedly lost the game, even a late surge -in which David Silva scored the most majestic solo goal, didn’t provide the goods.
Much was made of the decision to play two-up top in Moscow, yet Pellegrini opted for the same system this time out; Dzeko and Aguero both occupying the striker role once again. The Chilean did make two changes, as Clichy and Navas came in for Milner and Kolarov – changes which I didn’t deem to be successful. To begin with, we didn’t look too shabby, moving the ball well enough and not letting West Ham have too much sight of goal. Aguero looked lively up top, drawing a save from Adrian less than a minute into the action, while Silva wasn’t too far away with a free-kick.
But from then on, our performance levels dipped massively. Hart produced a brave stop to deny Valencia as he got on the end of a punt into the box from a free-kick and the Hammers began to trouble us. The home side got their noses infront in the 21st minute, and though the two West Ham attackers did return back into play having been offside, the defending was utterly shambolic. Song slid through a pass in behind Clichy; Mangala was outmuscled by Valencia, who just about found Amalfitano to open the scoring.
Not long after, Dzeko wasn’t far away from equalising; having directed Navas’ corner at the near post, but the Bosnian couldn’t keep his shot down. City’s no. 10 was virtually non-existent in the game, struggling to hold the ball up and assert himself in the match. We know he prides himself on delivering the goals in attack, yet he did not provide much of an outlet going forward. The same could be said for Aguero, who could not replicate his recent vain of form.
We just weren’t on song in the first half, while West Ham’s midfield – Alex Song bossed proceedings. As for the second half, things looked the same in the early stages and the need for a change was evident. That change did arrive on 58 minutes, as Jovetic replaced the anonymous Dzeko. The Montengrin sparked a bit of life in City, giving more balance cutting in from the left and linking up with the likes of Silva and Aguero – who hadn’t had any sort of impact on the game. The combination of Silva and Kun almost bared fruit just after Jovetic’s introduction, but Aguero was thwarted by Adrian.
City looked far more threatening and went unbelievably close when Aguero was picked out by Navas, but saw his effort crash against the crossbar and bounce away. Yaya Toure was denied by a commendable stop from Adrian on the rebound. Two golden chances for the Blues. At the other end, Sakho continued to torment the Blues backline. The Senegalese man almost added a second from Kouyate’s centre, but blazed over the bar. Yaya Toure hit the woodwork with a fine effort on 74 minutes, and you got the feeling it wouldn’t be our day. Things got worse as immediately after that chance West Ham extended their lead. Sakho got the better of Clichy in the air, and despite a near-wonder save from Hart, the goal was awarded and City fell further behind.
However, City moved forward quickly and reduced the deficit courtesy of some magic from our very own David Silva. The Spaniard dodged a couple of challenges on the edge of the box and shaped a gorgeous effort into the far corner. A gem of a goal, but Pellegrini’s men couldn’t find the all-important second; Jovetic coming closest with an outrageous effort on the turn.
To conclude, it was a poor showing from City who were only real in full-flow for a spell late in the second half. Of course, West Ham deserve great credit and were good value for their victory, but it was frustrating to watch. With the derby looming, City need to improve and the game against Newcastle in the Capital One Cup provides us with a chance to get back on track. But City must play to a much higher level if they are to maintain ground with Chelsea.
