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Manchester City made it 20 wins in a row across all competitions after beating West Ham United 2-1 to go 13 points clear atop the 2020-21 Premier League table.
Goals from centre-halves Ruben Dias and John Stones helped Manchester City take all three points despite Michail Antonio levelling proceedings for the visitors.
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The hosts started the game slowly, not recording a single shot on target until the 29th minute, thanks to the Hammers' resolute defending. But it was only a matter of time before Manchester City opened the scoring.
Kevin De Bruyne launched a perfectly-weighted ball into the box to find Ruben Dias, who promptly beat Darren Randolph for his first goal for Manchester City.
Though West Ham dominated the midfield for large swathes, Manchester City's defence more than held their own, except for the one occasion where Ederson had to make a brave save to deny Michail Antonio.
The English striker came close to equalising in the 39th minute but could only hit the post after being found in space by a Jesse Lingard cross. He finally pulled one back just before the half-time whistle after converting a quick counter-attacking move.
The second-half got off to a similar start, with the Hammers dominating proceedings. Both sides, however, played more aggressively after the break, especially on the counter.
Manchester City restored their lead in the 68th minute when their other centre-half, John Stones scored from a first-time finish following a corner.
West Ham tried in vain to score the equaliser, with Jesse Lingard's incredible cross in the last minute of the game narrowly failing to find Issa Diop. But Manchester City held on to create daylight between themselves and the chasing pack.
On that note, let's take a look at the five major talking points in the game.
#1 Manchester City make an uncharacteristically slow start
Manchester City are one of only two Premier League sides to have scored 50 or more goals after 26 games.
They did score in the first half against West Ham but were made to work hard by the well-drilled visitors. The Hammers held their line well and did not allow Manchester City attackers, including Sergio Aguero, who returned from a long injury layoff, any space in the attacking third.
Manchester City eventually scored from their first shot on target in the 30th minute, which marked the longest they had to wait to register a shot on target this term.
#2 Ederson concedes a goal from open play at the Etihad Stadium for the first time in five months
Manchester City have an immaculate home record this term. Before this game, they had conceded just 15 goals in the Premier League, with just seven of them coming at the Etihad Stadium, five of them in a single game against Leicester City.
The goal from Antonio on the night marked the first goal Manchester City custodian Ederson conceded from open play at home in the league since Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick for the Foxes in September.
The Brazilian goalkeeper had conceded just twice since September, with one of the goal being a Mo Salah penalty and the other being a Ruben Dias own goal in December against West Bromwich Albion.
Also Read: The 10 highest-paid goalkeepers in the world.
#3 Kevin De Bruyne moves into the list of top 10 assist providers in the Premier League
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the Manchester City players who is expected to provide assists every time he steps on the pitch. The Belgian playmaker, despite returning from an injury, bagged an assist against West Ham.
His exquisite cross for Dias' 30th-minute header was his 11th assist of the campaign, despite missing six games this season due to injury. That took his total assists tally in the English top flight to 77, with only nine other players bagging more assists in the competition than the Belgian
Among active Premier League players, only former Manchester City player James Milner is ahead of De Bruyne with 85 assists.
This campaign, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is the only other player with 11 assists across Europe's top five leagues.
Also Read: 5 Premier League players with the most assists in a single season.
#2 Ruben Dias and John Stones are becoming key players for Manchester City
Manchester City failed to keep a clean sheet on the night. But that could be attributed to West Ham's good play in the final third, which forced mistakes off the hosts' defence.
Nonetheless, Manchester City's centre-half duo of Ruben Dias and John Stones redeemed themselves by getting on the score sheet, with both players scoring from inside the box.
Dias has had an amazing debut season so far, while Stones' impressive performances have made him the first-choice defender over Aymeric Laporte.
With the pair at the heart of defence, Pep Guardiola's men have kept 11 clean sheets in the Premier League and conceded just three goals in 14 games, winning 13 of them.
#1 West Ham fail to stop the Manchester City juggernaut
West Ham started the game very positively, coming close twice to opening the scoring before Manchester City even recorded a shot on target. Even after they went behind in the first half, West Ham continued to search for goal-scoring opportunities and did not allow Manchester City to dominate.
Their efforts paid off, with Antonio scoring before the half-time whistle to restore parity. Manchester City, however, dominated possession and came out stronger in the second half, stepping up in the defensive third as well.
Just when it looked like the game would end 1-1 just as it had at the London Stadium in the reverse fixture, a moment of lethargy from the West Ham defence allowed Riyad Mahrez to whip in a cross. John Stones made no mistake and restored Manchester City's lead on the night.
Thereafter, Manchester City managed to see out the game to take all three points and continue their march towards a third Premier League title in four years.
Also Read: 10 football players with the most fans in the world.
