West Ham dismantled in season opener 5-0 loss to Man City

New season, same result. West Ham get absolutely run ragged by the reigning Premier League winners in a concerning start to the new campaign. A lot of work to do, but here’s how it went down.

Optimism was brimming before kickoff, and to be fair remained until the second half started. Strong possession play and great passing saw the Hammers hold the ball and resist the Man City press early in this match. Unfortunately, this would last

Gabriel Jesus would get the first goal at 24 minutes into the game. Kyle Walker would find a different gear down the wing to push past Aaron Cresswell, putting in a fizzing low cross that would get deflected to the Brazilian. Diop had to lunge in but his deflection would perfectly play the ball onto Jesus’ knee.

That would be it for the first half. Sebastien Haller really impressed as he held up play well and made a lot of surprising tackles to win the ball back in the middle of the pitch. Lanzini looked strong as well, and Rice was as steady as ever. Michail Antonio, who was a surprising start in this match was replaced at the half by Pablo Fornals.

51st minute would see the second goal this time scored by Raheem Sterling. Kevin De Bruyne’s recovery of the ball and turn past Balbuena would open up space for Sterling to break down the right side where he megged Fabianski for the 2-0 lead.

Sterling would get his second in the 75th minute when a VAR perfectly timed run would see a Mahrez flick over the top catch the West Ham backline sleeping. Sterling caught the ball an flicked it over Fabianski to the top corner, 3-0 City.

The fourth goal would come off of an Issa Diop penalty all caused by a terrible clearance by Fabianski. He gave the ball right back to Mahrez who cut inside and forced Diop to grab him causing the penalty. Aguero would have his penalty saved but VAR give Aguero a second chance as Rice encroached and cleared the ball. Aguero made no mistake and give City a 4-0 lead.

The final goal would cap Sterling’s hattrick as Mahrez again played him in past a broken and defeated Hammers backline. Sterling didn’t fall for Fabianski’s last-ditch psych out and slotted home cooly. 5-0.

The entire West Ham team looked disjointed and defeated once City scored in the second half. In my estimation, Michail Antonio was taken off too early. He played well with his size and physicality and bringing in Fornals slowed the game down for West Ham.

Jack Wilshere also looked tentative in his time on the pitch before being replaced by Snodgrass in the 56th minute. He had a few opportunities to really impact the game early on but failed to shoot and instead gave the ball away on a failed pass to Fredericks out wide.

Overall, there isn’t much we can take from this game other than a realization that the Hammers need a backup formation if they are playing a top-tier opponent like Manchester City. Their overly offensive 4-1-4-1 left Rice too exposed and the midfield too hollow against this opponent, packing the midfield with grittier players would have been wiser in hindsight.

Thoughts on VAR? Well, it’s a little hard to argue with the decisions because they were confirmed with the appropriate technology so it’s almost a moot point. I appreciated the explanation and video being shown on the big screen, but it will certainly take some time to adjust to the delays post-goal.

Pick yourselves up, dust yourselves off, and move on. Time to burn the tape and look ahead to Brighton up next.