Sterling brace helps City maintain winning run
Victory over West Ham puts Guardiola’s side level on points with Man United, Chelsea
Raheem Sterling scored an early goal and struck again in second-half injury time to help Manchester City beat West Ham 3-1 in the English Premier League yesterday.
Fernandinho scored the other goal for City, which has won its first three matches of the campaign under new coach Pep Guardiola to be level on points with title rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.
Not an easy run
It didn’t come easy for City, though, with Michail Antonio’s 58th-minute header making it 2-1 and setting up a tense finish at Etihad Stadium.
City’s passing and movement was irresistible in the first half, with Sterling’s side-footed finish in the seventh minute coming from one of the team’s many flowing moves. Fernandinho Man City West Brom 3 0 West Ham Boro 1 0 added a second goal in the 18th minute with a powerful header from Kevin de Bruyne’s free kick.
It needed Sterling’s second goal, when he rounded the goalkeeper and scored from an acute angle, to settle City’s nerves but Guardiola will be concerned with how his team’s level dropped in the second half. He might also be worried about the immediate future of striker Sergio Aguero, who appeared to throw an elbow at Winston Reid in a second-half incident not seen by officials.
City’s next game is against United, after the international break.
In the other game yesterday, West Bromwich Albion missed a chance to move into the Premier League’s top six when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Middlesbrough yesterday despite making the better opportunities in a dull game.