Unlucky to lose at City

Manchester City 2 West Ham 1

Another good performance at City and despite defeat a definite sign of progress. West Ham's organisation largely contains City for half an hour and stand-in keeper Randolph (Fabianski has had his arm trodden on in training, possibly by Julian Dicks, suggests Matt) doesn't have a shot to save. Ben Johnson looks a little overawed and loses the ball a few times, but it's a sound team performance. At the other end Antonio causes panic in the box jumping with Ederson and Lingard's shot is blocked by Stones. 

City take the lead as De Bruyne plays in a superb left foot diagonal cross and Diop has lost Dias for a second. Randolph gets a hand to it but can't keep the defender's header out. West Ham respond in heartening fashion. After good work from Coufal and Lingard on the right, Fornals misses Jesse's cross but Antonio swivels to strike the outside of the post. He's slightly scuffed it and on another day that would have been in the net.

Grizzled Czech Vladimir Coufal is having another great game. Fornals plays in the rampaging wing-back who crosses for Lingard to fire across goal and Antonio to poke home. A deserved equaliser just before the interval.

The Hammers again give a good account of the themselves in the second half, though Ranoplph pulls a thigh muscle taking a goal kick, which is worrying. City's second arrives as a corner is repulsed only for the ball to be recycled to Mahrez who takes on Johnson and pulls back for Stones to fire home. 

De Bruyne breaks past an exposed Diop to fire across the Hammers' box. But the Irons are threatening too. In the fourth minute of added time Lingard plays in a fine cross ands Diop gets his angles wrong and heads a great chance across goal rather than in. 

We've actually played better than in the match against Spurs. City might be tired after Europe but they can still bring on players like Foden and Jesus. They have the Son of God on the bench and we have the son of Alvin Martin. Against the Champions-elect, a team that has now won 20 in a row, this has to go down as a very decent performance.