Blue Days » West Ham United

Verdict: Manchester City 2 West Ham United 1

Blue Days — Tue, 03 May 2011 11:57:40 +0000

Two early goals secured three vital points but gave way to a casual performance against a depleted West Ham side who should have been dispatched more comfortably. At least there were two welcome, if unlikely, scorers in the shape of Nigel de Jong and Pablo Zabaleta. For the third game in a row Roberto Mancini named an unchanged starting eleven and substitutes bench. Rather than cohesion, such familiarity appeared to induce a casual approach. Gareth Barry was the brightest player in a start which was almost as one-sided as that seen at Blackburn.

Player ratings: Manchester City v West Ham United

Blue Days — Tue, 03 May 2011 08:35:50 +0000

Hart - Required to produce one great one-on-one save against Robbie Keane. Otherwise spent most of his time beseeching others to maintain their focus. 7 Zabaleta - Attacked the space on West Ham's flank excellently until they moved Ba across to give Pablo something to think about. By then the damage was done with a rare goal for the Argentine. 7

Preview: West Ham United v Manchester City

Blue Days — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:58:46 +0000

With the pressure off for both sides, and the disappointment of Wednesday night still fresh in City limbs, this match feels like an unnecessary distraction before both clubs get down to the serious business of preparing for next season.

Player ratings: City v West Ham

Blue Days — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:56:51 +0000

Given - Needed to be alert in the second half as West Ham pressed. His finest moment was turning over a stinging shot from Diamanti. 7 Zabaleta - Justified his selection ahead of Richards. The Argentine tackled well, and linked up with the forwards intelligently. 7

Verdict: City 3 West Ham 1

Blue Days — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:05:39 +0000

City saw off an initially limp West Ham side with a brace from Tevez and a free-kick from the recalled Martin Petrov. Arguably this was the most convincing performance of the season so far. West Ham kept plugging away in the second half, but there seemed less danger of dropping points than in any of the other fixtures this season. This alone is a sign of how the team is progressing.

Preview: City v West Ham

Blue Days — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:10:52 +0000

With Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez, City will be looking to a pair of Hammers old boys for the goals against Gianfranco Zola’s side tonight. Like Fulham last week, West Ham are a well organised side who like to play good football, and it will be an interesting test for City.

With all the likely challengers for the Champions League places (except Chelsea) winning over the weekend, the pressure is on for City to immediately get back to winning ways after ...