Manchester City beat West Ham United 3-1 on Sunday to claim a record-breaking fourth consecutive top-flight title.
Pep Guardiola’s side knew a win was required to hold off Arsenal, beat Everton 2-1 at the Emirates. It was billed as a day of painstaking nerves and back-and-forth twists, but it didn’t quite play out like that.
Phil Foden got the scoring under way after just 86 seconds at the Etihad when he received the ball from Bernardo Silva, allowed it to roll across his body, and struck it venomously beyond Alphonse Areola from the edge of the box.
City were outstanding in the early exchanges, moving the ball with pace and purpose; West Ham couldn't get close to the marauding blue masses. Areola kept out Kevin De Bruyne and twist denied Jeremy Doku, before Rodri hit the side netting. It was a matter of time until the second arrived and it was Foden - the FWA and Premier League Player of the Year - who supplied it.
He finished off a free-flowing attack and placed the ball first time into the net after Doku’s pass found him in the centre.
This was one-way traffic and after half an hour West Ham had managed just 16 percent possession, and it took until the 38th minute for the visitors to manage a shot of any description. But, somehow, West Ham grabbed a goal just before half-time when Mohammed Kudus teed himself for an acrobatic overhead kick from a corner, and the ball flew past a helpless Ortega.
City had missed a host of chances, with Erling Haaland somehow failing to connect with Doku’s cross from a few yards out, while he also curled over, again from a Doku cutback, in injury-time. Rodri and Foden tested Areola, and despite City’s dominance there was just one goal between the sides at half-time.
Despite the convincing nature of City’s performance, there was a sense of trepidation around the Etihad for a period either side of the break. Guardiola didn’t exactly help as he nervously paced up and down his technical area and was clearly irritated by the decision making of his players on more than one occasion.
But any tension was dispelled in the 59th minute when Rodri’s shot from the edge of the box was spilled by Areola and rolled into the West Ham net. It removed any doubt and City’s players and manager knew it. They celebrated widely with history just over half an hour away.
City could have grabbed a fourth when Doku and Foden fired efforts into the side netting, while Haaland’s back-post header flicked wide. There was some late drama as the ball deflected in off Tomas Soucek from a West Ham corner, only for the goal to be disallowed for handball, ruling out a late and unlikely comeback.
Soon after, the referee’s whistle blew to confirm City had collected the title and made history, which promoted an unwanted pitch invasion. Here’s how we rated the City players...
1. Stefan Ortega- 6
Had nothing to do for 37 minutes and then soon after was picking the ball out his net. The stand-in stopper could get nowhere near Kudus' outrageous strike, but didn't face a single shot in the second half.
2. Kyle Walker- 7
Made some good defensive interventions early on. Walker's quick darts back prevented West Ham attacks on a few occasions.
3. Ruben Dias- 7
Commanding at the back and kept the back four well organised.
4. Manuel Akanji- 6 (off 71)
Wasn't at his best, but didn't have much to deal with defensively.