Which I guess means this is us. Had City won today, the title race would be more or less over – Riyad Mahrez will struggle to sleep tonight – but instead, assuming Liverpool win in midweek, we’ve got ourselves the final-day arse-nipper we deserve; it’s going to be very very serious. Ta-ra!
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Here’s Ed Aarons’ mach report.
We say it a lot, but we need to keep saying it: what a ludicrous job David Moyes has done at West Ham. I’m not sure there’s a side in the league which understands its manager’s instructions as well, and sticks to them as adhesively.
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Something else to read:
Also going on: the final of the women’s FA Cup and it’s developed into a jazzer. Halfway through the second half, Chelsea lead Man City 2-1.
This afternoon’s other results:
Villa 1-1 Palace
Leeds 1-1 Brighton
Watford 1-5 Leicester
Wolves 1-1 Norwich
City lead Liverpool by four points, having played a game more; Liverpool are away to Southampton on Tuesday night.
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Full-time: West Ham United 2-2 Manchester City
Well! If Liverpool beat Southampton and Wolves, City will need to win at Villa next Sunday to take the title! West Ham, meanwhile, need Man United to fail to beat Palace, along with a win at Brighton, to reach the Europa League.
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90+5 min City clear easily, and that will surely be that.
90+5 min Yarmolenko replaces Antonio, and West Ham will have one final chance to stick a ball into the box, the free-kick for the foul down the right and just inside the City half.
90+4 min Another ball into the box aimed at Rodri, who can’t get much on it. Then West Ham counter with Bowen, a state of affairs City cannot tolerate, so Jesus slides in to bring him down; he’s booked.
90+3 min Antonio contests a high ball with Fernandinho, looking to bully the old timer, but he can’t get hold of it and beats the turf in frustration when the ref gives City the throw.
90+2 min Moyes is also happy with a point, sending Johnson, a defender, on for Fornals, a midfielder.
90+1 min And still Foden kicks his heels; I do not get it. Anyhow, Zinchenko tosses another ball into the box and Rodri, who’s a serious threat in the air these days. flicks wide.
90 min There’ll be four additional minutes. I’m certain City would shake hands on a draw now.
88 min Looking at the penalty again, that’s actually a really good save from Fabianski, who read it and reached up really well. But it’s a funny thing, because though City have come back from two goals down, they’ve not played especially well and have created very little.
87 min I don’t know, Mahrez isn’t someone I’d be trusting with that penalty – especially not with De Bruyne on the pitch. In his first season at City, he missed a late penalty at Anfield that I think gave Liverpool the boost they needed to contest the title even though they didn’t win it. Had he scored, City would’ve been clear at the top and even Klopp couldn’t have convinced his players that the league was on. But he ballooned over the bar, and in that moment the landscape of English football changed.
86 min Fabianski saves Mahrez's penalty!
It’s a poor effort, a nice height and telegraphed, so Fabianski dives left to beat away! Pressure!
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84 min Jesus darts outside Dawson, who slides into his foot, and that’s clear – clearer, even, then the one Jesus didn’t get in the first half, and the ref signals a penalty! Riyad Mahrez will take it, and this is, more or less, a kick for the title!
83 min Jesus darts outside Dawson and goes down! He wants a penalty and the ref says no ... but the replay says yes! The decision is goong to be overturned, I’m sure.
82 min Fernandinho collects possession outside the box, dragging a poor shot wide of the far post. What a player he’s been for City though – in particular, his performance in the January 2019 win over Liverpool is one of the great Premier League performances.
81 min Since equalising, City have created very little. West Ham have done a good job squeezing them, but this is still a poor performance.
79 min If the score stays as is, Liverpool can only win the league by winning their last two games and hoping Villa take something off City next weekend.
78 min If the score stays as is, West Ham will have a pretty decent chance of making next season’s Europa League – they’ll be two points behind the sorry state of affairs that it Man United, with a trip to Brighton to come. if they were to win that, their superior goal difference would leave United needing to win at Palace, which seems extremely unlikely.
77 min Here he comes! Noble replaces Lanzini, but not for a lap of honour – there’s work to do, and lots of it.
75 min It’s been a while since West Ham threatened but here they come now, Antonio picking out Soucek’s prodigious forehead ... and Bowen strides onto his knockdown! It looks for all the world like a memorable hat-trick, but Laporte gets just enough in the way, the ball flicking off his leg and flying wide for a corner which comes to nowt.
74 min City probe again, Jesus sliding down the left side of the box. But, unable to find a shooting angle, the ball gets worked back to Rodri, whose shot from distance is easily saved by Fabianski.
73 min “Spot-on analysis regarding Everton fans, says Mary Waltz. “They have had every reason to give up on them, I know I did, but they didn’t and they simply roared their boys out of the relegation spot. The ultimate example of what fans can do for their team.”
It makes such a difference when teams are up against it, because the players feed off the energy and then the support do likewise, creating a virtuous circle of symbiosis, if that’s even a word.
71 min A City winner feels inevitable now, West Ham sitting back as they have all day but in the knowledge that they can easily be breached.
GOAL! West Ham United 2-2 Manchester City (Coufal own goal 69)
Oh this is a disaster! Mahrez’s kick is alright, in that it’s into a dangerous area, but none of his mates are there to attack it. Coufal, though, loses his bearings so thinks he’d best stick a head on it to take it away from the 0 men queuing up behind him. Instead, though, he glances perfectly past Fabianski, and City are back level without having to have played well.
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69 min City win a free-kick down the left, that Mahrez will swing out...
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67 min Zinchenko tosses a ball into the box and Zouma cranes neck to head behind, then meets the corner with a solid brow. Zinchenko, though collects possession and unleashes a skidder that has Fabianski scampering across his goal to shovel away.
67 min And still Fill Phoden sits at the side.
65 min And here they come again! Rice worries Fernandinho, who turns to pass back to Ederson ... but he doesn’t know Antonio is loitering! Antonio has time and space too, except he opts to use neither, dinking an instachip over the top. That’s a real waste.
64 min This now looks a bit too much like the first half for City’s taste – they’re struggling to create space and West Ham are starting to threaten again on the counter.
63 min We see footage outside Goodison Park, where flares and crowds welcome the Everton bus. Their support has been brilliant these last few weeks and has, I’m certain, played a significant role in their team’s revival.
61 min OH MY DAYS! Ederson comes out to meet Laporte but gets too close to Laporte can only stick the ball away from goal then try and defend whatever comes next ... which is Bowen weaving towards goal from the right with men in the middle. But he wants a hat-trick, opening his body to pass into the near side-netting.
60 min Fabianski takes tiiiime over a goalkick, so is booked. That seems unwise with half an hour still to play.
60 min De Bruyne curls his effort over the top.
57 min West Ham have slowed things down a little, so De Bruyne comes deep to get on the ball. He can’t fashion an opportunity, but then Laporte sticks a ball in behind and Coufal yanks De Bruyne down. He’s booked, and City have a free-kick 20 yards out, near the left corner of the box. De Bruyne will fancy a bit of this...
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56 min If City need a win against Villa next Sunday, Steven Gerrard is 100% starting himself.
55 min “Goalkeepers rounded,” begins Bogdan Kotarlic. “I think that one of the reasons that goalkeepers don’t get rounded these days is that they play better football with their feet than before, so to dribble them means more risk for the attackers. Also, today’s football is very schematic so managers probably order their strikers to just kick the ball in the net as soon as possible instead of dribbling the goalkeepers and risking.”
54 min City have been much better since half-time, stretching play to widen the half-spaces. You’d back them to get a point out of this now.
52 min Mahrez finds Jesus in a pocket, in behind and right of centre. He zips by Rice, who does really well to stay in touch and force him wide, so that when the shot eventually comes it’s from a tight angle and Fabianski saves easily enough.
51 min That goal is important, not just because it hauls City back into the game, but because it forces Liverpool to score another goal if they’re to win the title on goal difference, and also because it gives Grealish something to hang onto. He really needed that big intervention, and Guardiola should instruct his players to get him the ball as often as they can.
GOAL! West Ham United 2-1 Manchester City (Grealish 49)
Zinchenko, who had a mare of a first half – he played Bowen onside for both goals – sticks a ball into the box, and when Rodri heads it back, Grealish does brilliantly to control a volley into the skiddy turf, the ball flicking Dawson and rearing up past Fabianski! This is absolutely buzzing now!
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48 min City win a corner, but it’s cleared; can they maintain pressure.?
47 min This really is a colossal half (of football) with ramifications, not just for this season, but for all-time. If Liverpool finish with a clean sweep of trophies, things will never be the same again.
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46 min I’m surprised City haven’t brought Foden on, but one change Guardiola has made is sticking Mahrez and Grealish on their respective touchlines in an effort to stretch West Ham.
46 min We go again!
I said earlier that City don’t want to offer Liverpool a goal-race, and the mind boggles at how many they might give Southampton on Tuesday night. If they can’t somehow finagle a point out of this, they’re in deep trouble.
Looking at the goals again, City are just so shaky at the back – as you might expect, given a back four who’ve only played together once before. Which makes Guardiola’s decision to leave out Foden all the more baffling – for what is he saving him?
“Could you ask Mr Simms to speculate on some other things that would be good?” emails Fraser Mann. “What happens, for example if City lose by seven? What about the PM getting a custodial sentence? Or maybe he could tell us what would happen to a skint bloke called Fraser if he were to get a big lottery win?”
City have been so lethargic today. They’ve still got time to sort themselves out – even a point here would be acceptable – but West Ham have been so compact and confident. There’s every chance they hang on to the points, and I’d not be surprised to see them score again.
Half-time: West Ham United 2-0 Manchester City
What on earth are we witnessing? Liverpool are bang in this title race, and the quadruple is well and truly on!
GOAL! West Ham United 2-0 Manchester City (Bowen 45)
NOW THEN! Soucek wins a flick-on, Antonio knocks in behind, and Bowen collects nicely with plenty of work still to do. But how confidently he attacks it, taking the ball onto his left foot before swivelling into a low drive that scooshes past Ederson! WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?!
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45 min City win a free-kick just outside the box on hits left-hand side – think Toni Kroos at the World Cup – but De Bruyne curls straight at Fabianski.
44 min “While City’s big win at Wolves has made it less likely,” says Nick Sims, “there’s still a chance of an amazing end to the season if West Ham win today. If City lose 2-0, and Liverpool put five past Southampton on Tuesday, they’ll go into the last game dead even on points, goal difference and goals scored. If they also get the same result as each other next weekend, then because of the meetings between them both finishing 2-2, the title will be decided by a playoff. As a United fan, there would be no good outcome, but what a game it would be, and a fitting end for two great teams.”
I think Sky might combust at the sheer narrative of it all.
43 min City have gone quiet again. For a few minutes, about seven minutes ago, they looked to be asserting themselves, but are back to plodding now.
41 min Thinking back to the goal, you don’t often see a keeper rounded these days. I wonder why that is – feel free to send in your theories – and Bowen looked to have gone too wide. But he clipped his finish beautifully, a player totally at one with himself.
39 min “I’m not sure it’s the case with Grealish,” emails Joseph Harvey, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that was a case of City defensively buying him so others can’t have him. They were pretty explicit about offensive buying – they bought Nasri not so much because they needed him but because Arsenal wouldn’t work without him (and they thought Arsenal the weakest of the top teams at that point).”
Maybe, but Guardiola does also have a massive yen for tricksy attacking midfielders.
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39 min The ball drops for Zinchenko, who works a shooting angle nicely with his first touch, only to drag wide with his second.
37 min And here’s Jesus again, on the left side of the box this time, collecting Zinchenko’s cut-back, using his first touch to skate past the first challenge, opening up his body in the process. But when he looks to unfurl a curler aiming for the far corner, Zouma dives in to block – that’s excellent defending.
36 min Slowly, City are improving, Jesus working himself some space on right of the box, but bending his low shot a yard or so wide.
36 min Elsewhere, Brighton lead at an increasingly doomed-looking Leeds.
34 min De Bruyne swivels into a square pass that meets the run of Rodri, whose first touch takes him past the first defender. But he can’t pick out a shooting lane, his effort deflected behind for a corner that comes to nowt. Better from City, but they’ve largely wasted the first third of this game.
32 min And here’s Grealish now, skirting around the outside of Bowen and knocking the ball into space; Bowen ploughs through him and is booked.
31 min “The season is fizzling out a bit,” says Felix Wood, “and with the World Cup not happening until November/not happening at all this year summer stretches ahead. The chances of clubs letting players and fans actually take a break is low I fear, but we can hope.
On Grealish, was he ever a breaker of massed defences? At Villa what he was was more of an excellent ball-carrier when the play was broken, with better balance than defenders scrambling to get back and the pace to get beyond them. I thought he was always an odd choice for City - a marvellous street footballer in a team of highly drilled pattern makers, a shiny bit of grit in the machine. So you’re completely wrong and and I believe that means I have to get very angry.”
Football’s the winner. Grealish didn’t play against many massed defences for Villa, but I’d argue that his skillset is well-suited to picking holes in defences – he’s got the ability to pick a pass, to commit defenders, and with the sleight of foot to work space in tight areas.
29 min Laporte picks up the ball near the centre-circle, and with no one coming to him, he leathers a shot that Fabianski tips over the top, on the dive. Goal-kick, determine the officials.
27 min City have been a bit laboured so far, but perhaps that goal will rouse them. They can probably afford a defeat here, because with a goal difference superior by seven, a win next week would probably be enough. But they’ll not be wanting to leave things to chance, because with the firepower Liverpool have, you just can’t be sure they won’t find the colossal win they’d probably need.
25 min Bowen really has had an excellent season. He strikes me as exactly the kind of player Jürgen Klopp could turn into a world-beater – he has the drive, desire and power that is the absolute height of Liverpool.
GOAL! West Ham United 1-0 Manchester City (Bowen 24)
Guardiola was right! There’s your transition! Fornals does brilliantly to hook a pass over the top and Bowen’s in! He goes around Ederson, then slots home superbly, and that is the cat well and truly pigeoned!
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23 min West Ham can’t get the corner clear and when the ball arrives in front of Fernandinho, he slices a shot that flies over the bar.
22 min Cancelo stamps on the gas and leathers a low cross that’s cleared, then Jesus regains possession for his team just outside the box, allowing Rodri to spank a drive that flicks off Dawson. For a moment, it looks like taking the ball past Fabianski, but in the even flies just wide.
21 min More City possession, working the ball across the pitch, but they’re not finding the pockets at the moment so West Ham are comfortable.
19 min We see that penalty shout again, and actually as Jesus waited for the ball to come down while trying to adjust his body-position, Zouma booted the fold on the back of his knee. I’m not sure why the officials have let that go, but I’m sure Peter Walton thinks they were right to.
18 min Antonio barrels by Fernandinho, who can’t keep up but then does brilliantly to slide in, miss the ball first time, but nick it away while he’s on the floor.
16 min On 16 minutes, more applause for Noble, who wears the number 16 shirt.
15 min City build and work an angle for De Bruyne to sticks a ball into the box ... but it won’t come down for Jesus, who can’t fiddle a shooting opportunity. He wants a penalty, but ref and VAR say to the contrary.
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14 min Email! “I read somewhere that Mark Noble has been on the losing side in more London derbies in the Premier League than any other player,” says Ian Burch. “I think it’s fair to say that there are a lot of supporters in the capital who’ll be sad to see the back of him.”
I don’t know – he’s just played in teams not as good at Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal.
12 min More City possession, moving the ball from side to side as they seek an attack-altering pass. West Ham, though, look solid, their defensive spacing bang-on and forcing City to come up with something.
10 min This has been a pretty quiet start, but now we’ve got some excitement: one of the linos has slipped ... no he hasn’t, Laporte has absolutely nailed him, leaving studs on heel! But he’s fine.
8 min On that point, I was surprised Grealish didn’t start against Atletico for the same reason. I’m not sure what Guardiola’s plan is for him long-term, because it’s hard to see him as a big-game fixture in this side.
7 min The game might just be settling into a pattern now, City moving the ball as West Ham shuttle from side to side. I guess this is why Grealish is playing today – with no space left in behind, his relative lack of pace won’t matter, and his ability to prompt and create will be useful against a well-drilled and deep defence.
5 min City win a free-kick down the left that Mahrez swings in – it’s easily cleared by Fabianski. City do then ringfence the box to keep West Ham hemmed inside inside it, bur Laporte can’t do anything with De Bruyne’s ball in.
3 min Bowen swings a cross into the box that Ederson tips behind, then when the corner goes short, Fornals plants a cross onto Dawson’s head! But he’s a fair way out and gets under the ball, sending an effort over the top.
2 min City are wearing that weird snide-looking pyjama top away kit, presumably because if they played in their usual sky blue the light blue on West Ham’s shoulders might confuse, er no one. Anyhow, Bernardo fires a ball over the top that won’t quite come down for Zinchenko, who pokes wide.
1 min And off we go!
The players take the knee. Black lives matter.
Spurs have beaten Burnley 1-0, thanks to (another) dodgy Harry Kane penalty. Arsenal will have to find something tomorrow night, and given their injury issues, that’s a difficult ask.
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Now here come the teams!
Here come Noble now, walking out into the London Stadium alone as the crowd cheer. He’s made 548 West Ham appearances, a ridiculous effort which puts him joint-sixth on the all-time list, and there are tears in his eyes as he applauds the supporters who hold him in such high regard.
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Geoff Shreeves is sitting in a caff with Mark Noble. It’s well authentic, and Noble says he’s left the club in a much better state than he found it, which is, well, a take.
Gabriel Jesus leads the line for City today – probably, as it’s also possible Jack Grealish plays through the middle. He might only have two games left as a City player, given the arrival of Erling Haaland will limit his opportunities even further. Ultimately, he’s not a good enough finisher or all-round striker to demand better, but his knack of making things happen is a useful one, and at 25, he’s still got time to improve, especially if he’s playing every week.
Moyes tells Sky that it’s a really big game for both teams – more news as I get it. He notes that City have scored a lot of goals lately, but West Ham will need to get at them.
Guardiola says he wants to involve everyone, which is why he’s made the attacking changes he has. He congratulates West Ham for two amazing seasons, identifying set-pieces and transitions as particular threats.
The more I look at the two teams, the more I can see a way for West Ham today – City are vulnerable in the middle of their defence. But looking at the two teams is very different to looking at the game as it unfolds on the pitch, and City just have so much attacking class that if they play even reasonably well, West Ham will probably have to score twice to get a draw.
Eesh, Ashley Barnes has just hit the post for Burnley. This one isn’t over – not by a long chalk.
Elsewhere: a Harry Kane penalty, in the eighth minute of first-half injury-time, sees Spurs lead Burnley with an hour gone. If they can hang on, Arsenal will be under pressure at Newcastle tomorrow night, while Everton will be closer to safe.
Noble’s best moment in a West Ham shirt? Surely this.
Mark Noble plays his final home game for West Ham this afternoon. He’s on the bench, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing him at some point.
A message from Mark Noble. pic.twitter.com/uoX0Ef2buN
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) May 15, 2022
I do wonder why Foden isn’t playing today – with just two games left, resting him doesn’t make that much sense. But perhaps Guardiola wants to have him in reserve, to come on fresh after an hour or so as West Ham legs tire.
City, meanwhile, are without Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias, all out for the season, but Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte both passed fitness tests and will play in the middle of defence. Otherwise, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish replace Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden.
Moyes makes one change from last week’s 4-0 over Norwich, Tomas Soucek replacing Saïd Benrahma. There’s a very solid look to their side, and they won’t be giving this away.
Teams!
West Ham United (a blanketing 4-5-1): Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Dawson, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek, Lanzini, Fornals, Bowen; Antonio. Subs: Areola, Yarmolenko, Vlasic, Noble, Fredericks, Masuaku, Johnson, Kral, Oko-Flex.
Manchester City (an implacable 4-3-3-): Ederson; Cancelo, Fernandinho, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva; Mahrez, Jesus, Grealish. Subs: Steffen, Ake, Sterling, Gundogan, Foden, Egan-Riley, Mbete, Palmer, Lavia.
Preamble
One hundred points; 98 points; 81 points; 86 points; 89 points and counting; however you slice it, the evidence insists that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have near-enough mastered domestic football. Never before has a team accumulated such tallies, nor demanded such tallies of opponents simply to get in the race. Frankly, it’s ridiculous
And, should City win today, they’ll be on the cusp of a second successive title, a fourth in five years. They’ll not want to allow Jürgen Klopp’s messianic monsters even the prospect of a final-day goal-race, so won’t be celebrating if they get a result this afternoon, but it’s impossible to see them not getting the four points they need to be champions just as it’s been impossible to see them dropping points in the run-in; domestic football, near-enough mastered.
So what can West Ham do to stop them? Er, maybe a lot and maybe a little. David Moyes’ men have enjoyed another superb season, and on a good day are a brutal prospect for any side, especially given their need to qualify for the Europa League. But over the last few weeks they’ve been slowly seeping gas, and the disappointment of semi-final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt will be still extremely sore. They’ll need to mine their deepest recesses of nastiness and remorselessness to dredge up a performance today – but make no mistake, they are capable.
Kick-off: 2pm BST
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