City’s unbeaten run shattered by HAMMER BLOW
Sakho stuns Etihad as West Ham make it a hat-trick of incredible victories on the road
MANCHESTER CITY lost their long unbeaten record in the Premier League as visiting manager Slaven Bilic completed an amazing hat-trick of away victories thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Adrian.
First-half strikes by Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho saw Bilic’s West Ham end City’s 11-match winning run in the league and add them to Arsenal and Liverpool as famous scalps this season.
City, who lost David Silva to injury in the warm-up, reduced the arrears through Kevin De Bruyne on his full debut and battered the West Ham goal in the second half, registering more than 20 shots on target. Adrian made outstanding saves from Yaya Toure and Nicolas Otamendi.
But the final outcome for City was a second defeat at the Etihad in five days following their slip-up against Juventus in the Champions League. They remain on top of the table but West Ham stand this morning as their closest challengers, just three points adrift.
Any complacency City might have felt about the opposition given their blistering start to the campaign did not take long to dissipate.
Already shorn of captain Vincent Kompany with a calf strain, Manuel Pellegrini was forced into another reshuffle when Silva cried off and was replaced by Jesus Navas. It meant two of City’s big signings — Otamendi and De Bruyne — were thrust into key positions.
De Bruyne was asked to play as a No 10 following Silva’s with-drawal, though he interchanged with Raheem Sterling during the game.
City’s uncertainty was clear as West Ham struck after only six minutes — the first goal they had conceded in the Premier League for nine hours, 33 minutes, a run dating back to last season.
After Fernandinho had been denied by Adrian with a header, the Premier League’s away-day specialists went up the other end and scored. Dimitri Payet fed Moses just outside the box and, as Eliaquim Mangala and Otamendi stood off, the on-loan Chelsea forward arrowed a low shot from 20 yards beyond Joe Hart’s dive.
Bilic had guided his side to wins in their last two games on the road, at the Emirates and Anfield, so maybe City should not have been surprised by Moses’s ambition and composure in front of goal.
Sergio Aguero had an almost immediate chance to equalise but uncharacteristically fluffed his lines. A weak header from Aaron Cresswell to the edge of the penalty area saw Adrian rush from goal and caught in no-man’s land. The Argentine had virtually an open net to aim at but rolled his finish wide from 14 yards.
Aguero, who has swapped his No 16 shirt for No 10 this season, was then denied by an excellent block from James Tom- kins, West Ham countered at pace whenever they could and Otamendi needed to stretch to stop Carl Jenkinson setting up Diafra Sakho.
The visitors’ threat was serious enough to grab a second goal just after the half-hour. And while City contested the award of a corner, what happened next was selfinflicted.
Winston Reid was allowed to win a header and, instead of clearing the danger, Fernandinho allowed the ball to bounce off his waist by the far post. The long right leg of Pedro Obiang hooked the ball back into the six-yard box and Sakho bravely bundled in from a few yards as Toure came to challenge. The striker stayed on the floor in pain while his team-mates celebrated.
Incredibly, West Ham nearly grabbed a third before half-time when Payet played in Sakho and Mangala needed to make a last-ditch tackle, winning the ball and hurting the striker in his follow-through.
It proved a timely challenge because City were able to score themselves right at the end of the half. It was their best passing sequence of the opening 45 minutes with Aleksandr Kolarov, Otamendi and Aguero involved. When Aguero passed to De Bruyne, he expected a return pass, but instead the Belgian took aim from 20 yards and buried the ball in the bottom left- hand corner.
Pellegrini sent on defender Martin Demichelis to partner his fellow Argentine Otamendi in the centre, with Mangala making way.
Toure, who was caught by Obiang at the end of the first half, showed he wasn’t suffering any ill effects by firing narrowly wide in the first attack of the second period.
It was the signal for City to camp in their opponents’ half. Sterling began to see more of the ball on the left and his cross was sliced by Reid, forcing Adrian into a great reflex stop. The keeper then raced out bravely to deny Toure after his run had breached the back line, while it took two defenders to squeeze out Aguero when he ran at goal.
To stem the tide and perhaps breathe life into West Ham’s counter-attacks, Bilic sent on £7million deadline-day signing Michail Antonio for his debut, replacing Moses after an hour.
The pattern of play didn’t change, though, with City dominant. After 62 minutes, Toure turned Obiang and fired in City’s 15th goal attempt, brushing a post. Adrian then blocked from Navas. He must have felt like a coconut in a coconut shy. Pellegrini threw on £28m Wilfried Bony for Sterling, giving the struggling Ivorian 25 minutes to prove himself. It was to no avail.