BEVERLY HILLS, February 27, (THEWILL) – Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side continued their dominant Premier League title run as they recorded a 20th straight win in all competitions. It came at a 2-1 win over high-flying David Moyes’ West Ham at the Etihad Stadium, who are fourth on the table.
With the victory, City opened a temporal 13 points gap at the summit of the table as their nearest rivals Manchester United and Leicester City, who are joint second, face tricky encounters on Sunday against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal respectively. The gap will remain except both win. West Ham remain fourth.
What is becoming clearer for the men from the Etihad is a third league title in four seasons. They came through a hard-fought success against the in-form Hammers to firmly establish that very real possibility.
City went into the game with seven changes to the side that won their UEFA Champions League tie midweek. The performance against Moyes’ Hammers was not the regular top gear City type, yet, the Blue side of Manchester still had enough in their locker to pick up all three points on offer.
As THEWILL reported earlier, much of City’s progress this season has been down to the solid defending that has deserved praise for witnessing a reduction in the deficit of conceded goals. It was the same again against West Ham even though the pairing of Dias and Stones shipped a rare goal but made up for it in style with a goal each.
Between them, the dynamic duo have seen a productive streak in front of goal even as they defend courageously. They have netted five times while conceding only three goals in the 16 games they have started together. This superb record truly gives testimony to City’s remarkable build up to the top of the league since the turn of the year.
Indeed, City’s overall strength has ignited talks of a ‘quadruple’ for Guardiola’s charges. The efficiency with which they have carried out their business in all competitions so far has fans looking at what may be in the four different open trophy positions the side remains competitive in: The Carabao Cup, the FA Cup, the EPL and the UCL. But, do they have the extra burners to take all four? Guardiola has the experience to make it happen.
West Ham will be disappointed to have dropped all three points after a display that had plenty of positives to bolster their claim as realistic challengers for a Champions League spot. Jesse Lingard, who served Michail Antonio the assist for West Ham’s only goal, was a constant threat but could not find the final quality to make a difference.
According to Guardiola’s stats, the Spaniard now has 200 wins as City boss, an English record as it was achieved in the fewest games needed by the manager of an English top-flight side. It also took the Spaniard to 500 in charge of a top-flight side in all competitions (Barcelona 179, Bayern Munich 121, City 200).
The reason Guardiola’s 200 wins with City is a record is because it came in just 273 games. The previous record for the fewest games to reach that landmark by a top-flight boss in England was held by rival manager Jose Mourinho, who achieved it in 309 matches.
Another victory and City will match the longest unbeaten run in their history which was the 28-game sequence that ran from April to December 2017 with Guardiola in charge
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
