West Ham fell to a third straight defeat, as Manchester City scored three second-half goals to return to the top of the Premier League.
The Hammers were hit by a bout of illness in the squad, meaning Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd were sent home despite all being set to start.
It didn’t seem to affect David Moyes’s side in the first half, as his makeshift back five held firm against a tirade of attacks.
But Nathan Ake’s header within five minutes of the restart set Pep Guardiola’s team on their way to a much more pleasing second-half showing, in which Erling Haaland and Phil Foden also scored.
The eventual 3-0 scoreline made for unpleasant reading for a West Ham side who still need to collect more points to be truly out of the relegation dog-fight.
Dom Smith was at the Etihad Stadium to rate the West Ham players.
Lukas Fabianski — 7
Made a good early stop to keep out Riyad Mahrez’s low shot. His centre-backs kept City out for the most part. Could potentially have done better with Ake’s header, but it was from almost point-blank range.
Vladimir Coufal — 7
Kept Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva quiet very effectively before going off injured.
Thilo Kehrer — 8
Kehrer has not always looked an inspired signing during his time at West Ham, but he stepped up here, and was only really second-best when Grealish slipped the ball past him for Haaland to score the second.
Angelo Ogbonna — 7
Won an inordinate number of aerial duels — particularly with Haaland — and was part of a makeshift backline that never disgraced itself.
Aaron Cresswell — 7
Timed an early tackle perfectly to ensure Julian Alvarez’s square pass didn’t allow Haaland a simple tap-in. Strong display in an unfamiliar centre-back position.
Emerson Palmieri — 6
Had to show discipline not to bomb further forward than he had been asked to. Decent enough.
Jarrod Bowen — 6
Failed to really get into the game. Axed after 79 minutes.
Flynn Downes — 6
Big night for a player who has featured sporadically in the League and the Europa Conference League all season. Lost the ball on a few occasions, but was well-positioned to make a few tackles.
Pablo Fornals — 6
Had a few pops on goal and was busy enough in midfield. Should have scored with a late pop-shot.
Lucas Paqueta — 7
Good at getting West Ham into advanced areas, and helped out with some important defensive work too.
Michail Antonio — 7
The usual nuisance he always makes himself, winning headers, holding up play, and playing his team-mates in to get West Ham moving up the pitch.
Subs:
Ben Johnson (Coufal, 62’) — 6
Slotted in at left wing-back comfortably.
Danny Ings (Antonio 67’) — 6
Yet to truly ignite his West Ham career since joining in January.
Said Benrahma (Bowen, 79’) — N/A
