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Half-time entertainment.
Half-time at Anfield: Liverpool 1-0 Fulham.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 0-0 West Ham United
That’s an impressive 45 from a second-string West Ham. City traipse off glumly. A title-race twist coming up?
45 min: There will be one added minute.
44 min: Haaland powers towards the West Ham box. He attempts a long-range one-two with Grealish on the left, but upon chasing the return pass, is lightly brushed by Downes as he enters the box. He opts to go down, looking to purchase a soft penalty. The referee’s not interested. You’ve seen them given, I guess, but that would have been very generous. VAR doesn’t show any interest either. Haaland looks pained.
42 min: The ball drops to Fornals, just to the right of the D. The resulting volley is as wild as it gets. Goal kick. That was a chance to work Ortega. Far from easy, but a rare chance nonetheless.
41 min: Stones is a constant menace, popping up in the West Ham box at regular intervals. He’s nearly released down the right by Silva’s wedge, but can’t bring in the pass. Goal kick. On the touchline, Pep Guardiola cuts a frustrated figure, waving his arms around in irritation.
40 min: In the other Premier League match being played tonight, Liverpool have just taken the lead against Fulham at Anfield. Mohamed Salah with a 39th-minute penalty.
38 min: Silva falls backwards over Ogbonna’s leg in the West Ham box, and claims for a penalty that he’s never going to get. We go on.
37 min: Grealish does what Grealish does, drawing a clumsy foul out on the left. Coufal at fault this time. The free kick’s hooked into the mixer, and pinballs around the West Ham box for a bit, but doesn’t quite fall to the lurking Stones. The Hammers clear their lines.
35 min: Stones flicks Mahrez into space down the left and prepares to flick across for Haaland to tap home. Kehrer reacts well, sticking out a foot to divert the ball out for a corner. The set piece is hit long and headed wide right by Stones.
34 min: Silva is nearly sent clear by a long pass down the left. Downes sticks to him like glue and eventually Silva is forced to turn tail. That’s staunch defence.
32 min: Rodri and Haaland one-two down the inside-left channel, and suddenly the former’s clear in the box! Rodri opens himself up and sidefoots a wonderfully forensic effort across Fabianski and towards the bottom right … but the ball hits the inside of the post, rolls all the way across the open goal, and spins out for a goal kick. Eh? How? City so close!
30 min: Chances from tight angles at either end! First up Bowen has a crack from a tight angle on the right, released by one simple throw. Ortega blocks with Emerson behind him, waiting to tap in any cross or rebound. City go up the other end, Grealish steaming in from the left and creaming a shot off the base of the left-hand post. Fabianski got a fingertip to that, but City aren’t getting the corner they deserve.
28 min: Fornals sends a speculative overhead kick (!) down the inside-right channel, and the bounce of the ball nearly confuses Ake and releases Bowen. But its spin saves City: just as it looks as though Bowen will burst clear, the ball bounces oddly and the hosts tidy up.
27 min: Grealish is beginning to cause a lot of trouble down the left. Yet another cross that only just evades Alvarez and Haaland.
25 min: Grealish tries again, another cross from the left. Mahrez can’t quite leap high enough, six yards out. Haaland meets it at the far stick but can only send it wide. The wait for goal number 51 goes on and on and on: that’s 112 barren minutes now since that early penalty at Craven Cottage on Sunday. Oh Erling!
23 min: Grealish crosses from the left. Stones and Haaland are in the middle, six yards out, preparing to nut home. But Ogbonna eyebrows out for a corner, just in time. He then clears the corner. Some top-drawer defiance by West Ham so far.
21 min: Antonio embarks on a power run down the left. He’s got absolutely nobody with him, so attempts to take Walker on in a footrace. Even for Antonio that’s a big ask, and Walker sticks to his shoulder and eventually ushers him out of play. This could be a fun duel.
19 min: A lot of patient City probing.
17 min: Mahrez tries to release Alvarez down the inside-right channel but gets the pass all wrong and clanks the ball out of play for a goal kick. On the touchline, Pep bows his head and quietly seethes. West Ham have done well to disrupt City here, after an uncertain start.
15 min: Silva slips Alvarez into acres down the inside-left channel. Alvarez enters the box and has the right to shoot, but attempts to roll across for Haaland, who is all alone in the middle, waiting to tap home. Cresswell does very well to slide in and block, the ball squirting back to Fabianski. A goal-saving intervention.
13 min: Emerson one-twos with Antonio down the left and is scythed by Walker, near the byline, just outside the City box. Another player very lucky not to go into the referee’s notebook … and again the resulting free kick is a non-event. Somewhere in the multiverse, City have two of their defensive line on a booking.
12 min: Rodri’s miskick allows Fornals and Antonio to scamper upfield. Dias comes across and takes out Antonio with a hilariously mistimed slide tackle. Just a free kick, and a small wonder that Dias doesn’t go into the book. Nothing comes of the free kick.
10 min: Bowen runs hard down the right but there’s nobody in support and he eventually runs out of road. City counter quickly, and Grealish, out left, crosses low for Mahrez, who attempts an instant sweep into the bottom left. Shades of Xhaka-Odegaard for Arsenal against Chelsea at the Emirates last night (x2). Fabianski saves and West Ham deal with the resulting corner.
8 min: West Ham deal with the corner. “Another year, another City title,” predicts Mary Waltz. “As far as City v Arsenal I am neutral. But I was sort of rooting for the Gunners just so I could read a different story. There are some books I enjoy reading multiple times but not every spring.”
7 min: Grealish’s cheeky backheel nearly releases Silva down the left. City have to settle for a corner off Coufal.
5 min: Grealish comes bombing in from the left and briefly threatens to get into shooting position, but the ball’s poked away from him at the last. City look in the mood … but then again, City always look in the mood. West Ham have barely had a touch.
3 min: Silva embarks on a baroque ramble down the left and nearly slips his way past three claret shirts. He’s eventually dispossessed but what a silky run.
71 seconds: Alvarez advances towards the West Ham box and attempts to thread a shot into the bottom left from distance. Fabianski gathers.
Eight seconds: City take receipt of the ball and start stroking it around.
West Ham get the ball rolling. A mood of quiet contemplation at the Etihad, the sort of atmosphere you’d expect when the home side are 11-2 on while the visitors are 17-1 against … but then a blast of Blue Moon gets the party started. Here we go, then.
The teams are out! City in their sky blue with early-70s centred badge, West Ham in their claret with early-90s over-the-shoulder flashes. A proper mash-up of Rodney Marsh, Colin Bell, Julian Dicks and BAC Windows vibes here. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Records. When we last published the full list of players to have scored 50 goals or more in a single season in English football – a full seven days ago – Erling Haaland wasn’t on it. Now, after goals against Arsenal and Fulham, he is. (Those in italics were not playing in the top flight.)
63: Dixie Dean (Everton 1927-28)
63: George Camsell (Middlesbrough 1926-27)
58: Ted Harston (Mansfield Town 1936-37)
58: Joe Payne (Luton Town 1936-37)
54: Terry Bly (Peterborough United 1960-61)
52: Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers 1987-88)
50: Vic Watson (West Ham United 1929-30)
50: Tom ‘Pongo’ Waring (Aston Villa 1930-31)
50: Clarrie Bourton (Coventry City 1931-32)
50: Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers 1988-89)
50: Erling Haaland (Manchester City 2022-23)
So what’s next? One more goal means he’ll break the all-time Premier League record for goals in a single campaign: he’s currently on 34, sharing the record with Andy Cole (Newcastle United 1993-94) and Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers 1994-95). More importantly, given that football didn’t start in 1992, a 51st goal in all competitions would see him overtake Vic Watson and Pongo Waring in the all-time top-flight list, behind only Dixie Dean. There’s a fair chance Haaland will overhaul Dean’s grand total by the end of the season, though only (!) in all competitions: Dean scored 60 in the league in 1927-28, a record that’s unlikely to be bettered any time soon. Er, probably. Erling?
David Moyes talks to Sky Sports. “We’d worked on our team yesterday but overnight three of them took ill so we had to change it around … hopefully it’s not too bad … sickness, etcetera … there’s nothing we can do about it … it only happened today, we sent the players home at 2pm so it was too late to bring any of the young boys up to add to the bench … it gives some other players opportunities … it was always a tough game … I’m hoping we can show it and make it as difficult as we possibly can … good performances lead to good results but if I didn’t get a performance tonight yet we won I wouldn’t be complaining! … anything out of this game would be a bonus.”
Pep Guardiola is asked by Sky Sports whether he watched last night’s game between Arsenal and Chelsea. “Yes, Arsenal played really good as they have done all season … Ederson needs to rest a little bit … we have a lot of games and to rest is good … Kevin De Bruyne is feeling better … the season is too long, it is up and down, you cannot be all the time winning … but the team is really good and that is why we are here … the guys who did not start could play perfectly … it is not easy but it is what it is … Jack Grealish has stepped up compared to last season … he was shy … he could not believe he was here … every player can be better … every player can improve … we cannot deny how important the semi-final of the Champions League is … but the Premier League is so nice … the feeling is that you have been the best in the country for 38 fixtures … I never thought for one second after the Arsenal game that it is over … I know Mikel Arteta and he is a huge competitor … we have to prepare … six games, tough games … everyone plays for many things.”
Manchester City make three changes to the side that started the 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday. Stefan Ortega makes his Premier League debut, replacing Ederson in goal, while Bernardo Silva and Nathan Ake take the places of Ilkay Gundogan and Manuel Akanji, who both drop to the bench.
West Ham United make four changes to the team sent out for the 4-3 defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday. All of them are enforced: Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd have fallen victim to a bug that’s swept the West Ham squad, while Kurt Zouma is injured. Aaron Cresswell, Thilo Kehrer, Angelo Ogbonna and Flynn Downes step up.
The teams
Manchester City: Ortega, Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Silva, Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish, Haaland.
Subs: Ederson, Phillips, Gundogan, Laporte, Gomez, Akanji, Perrone, Foden, Lewis.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Coufal, Kehrer, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Emerson, Downes, Paqueta, Fornals, Bowen, Antonio.
Subs: Areola, Anang, Johnson, Lanzini, Cornet, Ings, Benrahma.
Referee: John Brooks
🔵 𝑻𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑵𝑬𝑾𝑺 ⚒️
XI | Ortega Moreno, Walker (C), Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ederson, Phillips, Gundogan, Laporte, Gomez, Akanji, Perrone, Foden, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/s1OPmihxCe
Preamble
Yesterday evening Arsenal did this …
… which meant they went top of the table like this …
… and so Manchester City need a win that will take them back to the summit, against a West Ham team battling relegation thus …
… so it’s a big one at the Etihad tonight. Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
English (US)