Man City feels the snowball effect as Premier League title defense gathers momentum versus West Ham

MANCHESTER, England – Pep Guardiola will look no further for excuses if City of Manchester dropped points in the Premier League this weekend.

West Ham United to Etihad Stadium as the fourth best team in the league, conquerors Liverpool not long ago. Four days after confronting Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain, Guardiola does not have Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden and can name only eight substitutes, two of which are goalkeepers. The game was played in such bad blizzard conditions that a half-time break had to be extended to allow the pitch to be cleared of snow while visiting the goalkeeper. Lukasz Fabianski seems happy to start wasting time in the first 15 minutes.

– ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (US)
– Daily ESPN FC live stream on ESPN+ (US only)
– No ESPN? Instant access

But in the end, nothing matters. City won 2-1, and Guardiola’s team showed once again why Liverpool and Chelsea will be lucky to win the Premier League title at Etihad Stadium this season.

Can they do it on a cold late November day in Manchester? Yes, they can.

“The first half was almost unplayable,” said Guardiola, who gave his personal rewards to the ground staff, who managed to get the game going when, 30 miles down the road, Burnleygame of against Tottenham Hotspur had to be postponed.

“We have an incredible keeper. It’s thanks to them that we can play. The players we’ve played, the people who have come here have been excellent. All of them. We can’t forget the opponent. we played. They had everything.”

It was not a performance that would become the standout DVD of a dazzling display under Guardiola, but perhaps that was to be expected as the players could barely see the mark on the pitch for half an hour. match.

There is a strange fear, especially in the first half, when Michael Antonio and Benrahma said tried to get Man City to take a break and Guardiola was nervous enough in the last few minutes to put on the pitch Fernandinho for some additional coverage. The 36-year-old Brazilian was brought on to prevent West Ham from scoring, but instead put the game to sleep with a footwork from just outside the box in stoppage time.

After Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead at half-time, it put the final stamp on a performance gritty enough to thaw the road from Manchester to London. Fernandinho’s goal turned out to be more important than imagined at the time Manuel Lanzini Attempt to get into the high corner with the last kick of the game. It makes the game seem tighter than it is now and the score could be more of a fair reflection if City take advantage of a few more of their chances. Riyad Mahrez hit the post in the first half when he really should have scored.

“I was surprised at the number of chances we created against them,” said Guardiola. “We created a few. The chances that we created, maybe three or four.”

After reaching the top 4, West Ham have now lost two in a row and have to face both Chelsea and Arsenal in the next three weeks. The Champions League is a realistic possibility, but it remains an issue that Moyes will likely find difficult to play away from home against top teams. Since returning for a second time in charge of the Hammers, he has failed to win a single 12 away trips against Premier League Big Six clubs.

City, meanwhile, have another tough game on Wednesday against a Aston Villa rejuvenated by Steven Gerrard, but under Guardiola they have developed the habit of making even the most rigorous tests look relatively simple. Snow is of no help to West Ham, and City are unlikely to be affected by the visit to Villa Park even if the pitch is covered with ice sheets. Guardiola will still let his players find space.

“We came from a tough midweek game against PSG and we know exactly which team we face today,” said Guardiola. “The amount of chances we created, especially in the first half with the conditions, it was a huge win for us.

“We didn’t concede a lot of goals and defended really well. Maybe we could have created another pace but the weather conditions didn’t allow us to do that. We celebrated today then came on. Birmingham on Wednesday for Villa.”

Guardiola’s champions carry on, never mind what’s going on in front of them.