adminCommentator says West Ham player is the “worst” he’s ever seen after Man City defeat
West Ham’s miserable season plunged deeper into turmoil as they were soundly beaten 3-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, a result that leaves the Hammers spending Christmas inside the relegation zone.
It marked a tenth Premier League defeat of an increasingly bleak campaign for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side, while City’s comfortable victory extended their winning league run to five matches and lifted Pep Guardiola’s men to the top of the table, at least temporarily.
Erling Haaland was central to City’s dominance, scoring twice and playing a decisive role in the third goal during a one-sided contest that underlined the growing gulf between the two teams.
The Norwegian needed just five minutes to open the scoring, meeting Phil Foden’s cross from the left with a clinical finish to immediately seize control of proceedings.
West Ham struggled badly to respond, producing a flat and uninspiring first-half performance.
Their only moment of note before the break came when a Jarrod Bowen cross flashed across the face of goal without finding a teammate, while City continued to dictate the tempo with ease.
The visitors’ defensive vulnerabilities were punished again in the 38th minute. Rayan Cherki beat Mateus Fernandes to the ball and drove into the box before slipping a pass to Haaland, who selflessly teed up Tijjani Reijnders to smash a close-range finish into the roof of the net.
There was at least a brief improvement from West Ham after the interval. Crysencio Summerville forced a turnover down the left and crossed from the byline, with Gianluigi Donnarumma reacting sharply to deny Freddie Potts before Fernandes blazed the rebound over the bar.
Bowen later dragged an effort wide during the Hammers’ most positive spell of the match.
City, however, always looked in control. Ruben Dias headed straight at Alphonse Areola and Foden fired wide before Haaland extinguished any remaining hope of a comeback in the 69th minute.
A flowing move involving substitutes Savinho and Rico Lewis ended with the striker finishing clinically to make it 3-0 and take his tally for club and country this season to 38 goals.
Donnarumma was again called into action to block Summerville’s attempt as West Ham searched for a consolation, while Foden and Josko Gvardiol both went close for the hosts. Haaland nearly completed his hat-trick in stoppage time, firing narrowly wide.
The defeat leaves West Ham winless in six league matches and stuck on 13 points from 16 games, three points adrift of safety and guaranteed to spend the festive period in the bottom three for the fifth time in their history.
Nuno’s side were further weakened by the absence of both first-choice full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf, who are away on Africa Cup of Nations duty, compounding the problems of a squad low on confidence as the relegation fight intensifies.
It was also a difficult afternoon for Max Kilman, who struggled to cope with Haaland’s movement and influence. Commentator Tom Rennie was particularly scathing on social media, labelling Kilman the worst footballer he had ever seen.
West Ham’s porous defence has become a major concern this season, and strengthening at centre-back is expected to be part of their January plans.
While a striker is viewed as the primary priority following Niclas Füllkrug’s departure, Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell is understood to be a leading target, with internal discussions already taking place.
Securing reliable defensive alternatives to Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo could prove decisive if the east London club are to avoid an unwanted return to the Championship.
admin
