London: David Silva scored a late goal Sunday evening as runaway leaders Manchester City won their 13th successive Premier League game and restored their eight-point lead with a 2-1 victory against West Ham United. In winning their 13th successive match, City equalled the record held by both Arsenal and Chelsea.
Silva converted Kevin de Bruyne’s brilliant pass from close range in the 83rd minute as City maintained their blistering form this season.
Nicolas Otamendi had converted substitute Gabriel Jesus’s cross in the 57th minute to equalise after defender Angelo Ogbonna had headed West Ham into the most unlikely lead at the end of a first half in which the hosts dominated.
“It was difficult, teams seem to come here and get every man behind the ball, not interested in anything but parking the bus,” City midfielder Fabian Delph told Sky Sports.
“But we have players like David Silva in the team, so we knew if we kept going we’d get our chances and that’s exactly what happened. We want to win the derby but we are taking it each game at a time.”
As expected, City dominated possession but the mass ranks of West Ham defenders frustrated their array of attacking players and disrupted the rhythm of their intricate, threaded passes.
Not until the 26th minute did goalkeeper Adrian make his first meaningful save, pushing Silva’s deflected shot over the crossbar. But then against the run of play West Ham struck. City failed to deal with a corner with Ogbonna’s downward header evading Ederson.
Otamendi restored parity shortly after the break but, until Silva’s late intervention, it appeared that City’s search for a winner would prove fruitless.
Reuters