City 1 West Ham U 0
February 27th 2019 att.53,528
City should have been three goals up in the first 10 minutes but West Ham managed to survive and as they defended in depth City had to rely on a 50-50 penalty award to win a difficult game. Ah well we can't win every game six nil! West Ham rarely came into our half and Ederson only had one save to make all game. With several players injured and recovering from the Wembley win over Chelsea it was vital just to get the three points. The atmosphere was a bit lower than usual and too many passes were going astray. Zinchenko continues to improve but Sane was below his best and City improved when Benardo came on before the 60 minute mark. Many referees might not have awarded the penalty but it evened out the times when we have not had them given. It was nice to see Nasri and Pellegrini again and Zabaleta had a big cheer when he came on in the second half. Aguero got his 25th goal of the season with a better penalty than the one he took against Chelsea at Wembley!
City made several changes from the Wembley game due to injuries and the resting of players. With 4 players away for several weeks it is fortunate we have a big squad.
West Ham did not have huge support and there were empty seats generally around the ground
City's first two trophies of the season were shown to the crowd
In the first minute an effort by De Bruyne goes just wide
Then Mahrez shot over the bar from a good position from a great cross by Silva
Manager Pellegrini must be a little worried about the early pressure
On 4 minutes David Silva hits the post so we could have been two up already!!
De Bruyne's shot is too high
West Ham clear a City corner
Fabianski beats Aguero to the ball
an optical illusion - no hand ball!
Nasri's back - for West Ham -
but he was subbed at half time
Good heavens! West Ham are in our half -
the cross was cleared
A shot from Aguero is deflected.......
Aguero's header from the corner goes wide
Fabianski saves at a City corner
Five minutes into the second half and Ederson has to make a good save from Carroll - their fans cheer
It was their
only shot on goal!
on 57 minutes Benardo replaces Sane and immediately has an impact on the game
He goes down following a tackle from Anderson and the ref gives a penalty
The West Ham players object but Aguero scored from the spot - a goal at last!
The North Stand have something to cheer about and the players thank Aguero for putting them ahead
The City fans give Zabaleta a big welcome onto the pitch - see his City career
HERE
...and he is soon in action
Another City attack ends with......
..a defender saving on the line
Fabianski saves from Sterling
Fabianski saves from Aguero but the flag is up for offside
a shot from Danilo is saved
Sterling misses a good chance to score
A header by Carroll goes wide
City try to get the refs attention to bring on Foden
Antonio brings down De Bruyne and gets a yellow card
Kevin takes the ball to the corner flag to see out time and the managers shake hands at the end of a City win
team
Ederson 7: Danilo 7 , Kompany 7, Otamendi 6.5, Zinchenko 7.5: Gundogan 6.5, De Bruyne 7.5, Silva 7, Mahrez 6 (Sterling 7.5), Sane 6 Benardo 8), Aguero 7.5 (Foden)
