Man City 1 - West Ham 2: Sakho deals hammer blow to City as De Bruyne gets off the mark

West Ham and goalscorer Diafra Sakho (centre) celebrating their 2-1 win over Man City at the Etihad

IT turns out there are some things money can’t buy. Like three points against West Ham.

 

Manchester City selected the most expensive team in Premier League history. They gave first starts to the £86million pair of Kevin de Bruyne and Nicolas Otamendi. Their starting 11 cost £300m. They lost.

They even had a goal from the biggest buy in their history, De Bruyne. It mattered not. Their club record run ended at 11 straight wins. Their immaculate beginning to the Premier League season came to an abrupt end. And West Ham, the kings of the road, did it again.

 

Slaven Bilic is not yet a great manager, but he is one who gets great results. He has only been in charge of the Hammers for six league games, but he has won away at Arsenal, Liverpool and now City.

Perhaps it is the best hat-trick by anyone connected with West Ham since the 1966 World Cup final. Remarkably, brilliantly, his side have a 100 percent away record. Who could have predicted that when the fixture list came out?

But West Ham have specialised in the seemingly impossible. City had a perfect defensive record. They had not conceded in 572 minutes of Premier League football. That all ended with a swing of Victor Moses’ right boot. His first goal for West Ham was the first Joe Hart had to retrieve from his net against English opposition.

But within 25 minutes, the City keeper was beaten again. It was a defensive disaster. Winston Reid beat Aleksandar Kolarov in the air, the ball bounced off Fernandinho and an unmarked Diafra Sakho scrambled the ball over the line.

The injured Vincent Kompany was missing and how City missed him. They had less organisation and less solidity at the back. The no-nonsense Otamendi made his first start but City had no leadership. Eliaquim Mangala,who had been excellent alongside Kompany in earlier games, was error-prone without him. He was hauled off at half-time.

 

Manchester City's £56million signing Kevin De Bruyne celebrating his first goal for the club

He was not the only one to struggle. There was the rare sight of Sergio Aguero missing an open goal after a rash Adrian rushed out of his penalty box to try to meet Aaron Cresswell’s under-hit pass. Aguero darted past him but rolled his shot wide.

Normally so accurate, the Argentine was erratic in front of goal. He had two attempts to turn in Bacary Sagna’s cross. He failed with both. He had another near-post chance. Adrian was equal to it again.

His best touch was a pass. When teed up by Aguero, De Bruyne drilled in his first City goal. It was a first indication of what £54m buys. He was their best player, forever prompting and probing.

And City attacked and attacked. They applied constant pressure. Yaya Toure surged into the box. Adrian saved again. The Ivorian broke clear again. He shot wide. The Hammers’ defenders flung themselves in front of many more efforts to make blocks.

With Adrian in exceptional form, it made for a magnificent rearguard action. But West Ham held on. Now they are second, behind only the team they beat. City.

MAN CITY: Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala (Demichelis, 46), Kolarov (Iheanacho, 84); Fernandinho, Toure; Navas, De Bruyne, Sterling (Bony, 66); Aguero.

WEST HAM: Adrian; Jenkinson (Collins, 84), Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell; Noble, Obiang; Moses (Antonio, 60), Payet, Lanzini (Jelavic, 69); Sakho

Referee: Robert Madley