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MOTD- Manchester City 2-0 West Ham United

By on May 11, 2014

It seems surreal, but the Premier League season is over already. Each team has played all of their thirty-eight matches, and for Manchester City, one will be the most special. Undoubtedly, that one will be their 2-0 win over West Ham United tonight, a win which sealed them the title. There was no last minute comeback or late drama, yet the victory was just as incredible for Manchester City supporters – their team has taken the league title back from Manchester United and have now won more league titles in the past three years than in the eighty-five years since they won their first historic title in 2012.

The title was even expected to be clinched by City; all they needed was a draw against West Ham. Nonetheless, even in the pouring rain, there were no empty seats at the Etihad when the match kicked off. Although West Ham started well, knocking the ball around and pressuring City whenever they lost the ball, it only took City around five minutes to find their rhythm and pinned their visitors back in their own third. And it was only a matter of time before the chances came rolling in for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. Eleven minutes in David Silva slashed a volley inches over the crossbar in miles of space at the far post from a Pablo Zabaleta cross from right, before Sergio Aguero saw his low twenty-five yard effort straight at Adrian easily smothered by the West Ham goalkeeper.

Most of the time every single West Ham player was in their own box, much less their own third of the pitch, and when news of Martin Skrtel’s own goal in Liverpool’s meeting with Newcastle United, which meant that unless The Reds were to stage a comeback win the title would by City’s, the home side were just given more belief. Scarves went up, fans began to sing, and City perked up in search to capitalize on their fans backing. Yaya Toure curled a shot from the edge of the box wide, and Aleksander Kolarov’s thirty-five yard screamer was barely tipped inches over by Adrian moments later. Finally, City took the lead as Nasri found a few yards of spade twenty yards out from goal, and slammed a brilliant low dipping effort off the weak hand of Adrian into the back of the net via the inside of the post. It was the Frenchman’s seventh, and perhaps most vital goal of the season.

Not only did it leave City needing to allow two goals to lose their increasingly firm hold on the tile, yet the goal also gave Pellegrini’s men plenty of momentum. In the thirty-ninth minute Aguero headed Nasri’s free-kick from the right wide of the far post, and with last kick of the first half, Nasri so nearly found his second as his deflected effort from ten yards out rocketed back out off the crossbar following a short corner. In fact, it only took three minutes into the second half for Vincent Kompany to all but seal City the title win. A corner feel fell to him on a plate just a few feet out from goal, and Kompany poked home the simplest of finishes to make it 2-0. City celebrated accordingly – the goal meant that only a miracle would deprive them from the title.

The home side seemed to know this themselves, and began to sit back slightly more, allowing West Ham to into the game. Sam Allardyce’s side hardly found a single chance, though, and meanwhile City created so many it looked as if a third goal to put the icing on the cake would come soon. Aguero flicked a head wide of the near post sixty-two minutes in, and the Argentine forward missed yet another sitter soon after as he scuffed Zabaleta’s cut-back from the left into the hand of Adrian with a virtually wide open goal at far post. Fifteen minutes later a great little scoop over the West Ham defense from Toure put Nasri in behind the West Ham defense, yet Adrian did brilliantly to kick away the Frenchman’s low ten yard volley. In the end, the third would not come, but City fans became more and more jubilant as the final whistle neared. And when the whistle finally came, the pitch was flossed with fans. Blue flares were sent out on the pitch – players needing to be escorted into the dugouts to be saved from the thousands swarming them. They were the incredible scenes that come with a Premier League title.
Man of the Match: Samir Nasri

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.