SILVA JUST PRICELESS FOR PEP
PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION
MAN CITY (4-3-3): Ederson 7; Walker 6, Otamendi 7, Mangala 5, Danilo 6 (Jesus 46, 6); De Bruyne 7, Delph 7, SILVA 8; Sterling 6, Aguero 6 (Fernandinho 84), Sane 6 (Bernardo 90). Subs: Bravo, Toure, Gundogan, Kompany. UP NEXT: Shakhtar Donetsk (a), Champions League, Wednesday. WEST HAM (5-1-3-1): ADRIAN 8; Zabaleta 6, Rice 7, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 6, Masuaka 7; Obiang 6; Fernandes 5, Kouyate 6 (Sakho 43, 5), Lanzini 6 (Arnautovic 69, 5); Antonio 7 (Ayew 88). Subs: Trott, Martinez, Quina, Johnson. UP NEXT: Chelsea (h), Premier League, Saturday. Referee: Mike Dean 5. YOUR TURN: Who scored twice for City when they beat West Ham 3-1 at home last season? IT WAS a fantastic finish to keep a remarkable run going.
David Silva may not always get the headlines he deserves these days due to Manchester City’s long list of attacking stars.
But the Spanish magician, who signed a new deal this week, showed he is a vital part of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering football machine.
Silva’s late acrobatic strike sealed City’s 13th consecutive win, a singleseason run only matched by Arsenal and Chelsea in history.
It came when City appeared to be running out of ideas as they looked to overturn a first-half deficit against a resolute West Ham.
Nicolas Otamendi had levelled for City after Angelo Ogbonna headed the Hammers into an unlikely lead.
But City came up against an in-form Adrian, who started in goal instead of Joe Hart as the on-loan keeper could not play against his parent club.
They were also finding gaps hard to find in the Hammers’ defence.
But then Silva showed his class, ghosting into the visitors’ area to meet Kevin De Bruyne’s exceptional ball in.
It was not just the run but the way he turned his body, rose to get his left boot to the pass and make it look effortless as he guided the ball past Adrian, who was rooted to the spot.
Restored
City are now unbeaten in 28 games in all competitions and have not tasted a league defeat since April as they restored their eight-point lead at the top of the table.
West Ham made a game of it, though, when nobody gave them a chance.
Some bookmakers had them as long as 25-1 to win.
Hammers boss David Moyes’ response to a question about his side’s chances of taking points from a run of games that includes Chelsea and