Man City’s hopes of winning the Premier League are on the line after a 1-1 draw with West Ham left them nine points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and the hosts could be seen celebrating their escape from the relegation zone.
“If we drop points, it’s over,” said Josep Guardiola during the game, and the suspended City manager watched from the stands as his side failed to find a chance against a stubborn West Ham side after Arsenal’s win over Everton in the early hours of Saturday. After the match, he retorted, “It’s not over because we haven’t lost.”
But his side is now facing a big challenge.
Lacking magic in the final third, heavy in the build-up and exposed at set-pieces at the back, there was no evidence that City could fight back and claim the win needed to take Mikel Arteta’s side top of the Premier League.
There is hope that a Carabao Cup final win over the Gunners at Wembley next Sunday could change psychology, but City will also have an unlikely relief job against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
This could be a period during which there are three possibilities for silverware to slip from their hands.
Manchester City’s Phil Foden looks nervous during draw with West Ham
This was a must-win game as they had dropped a point at home to Nottingham Forest in their last league match. It started out just as they had hoped. City completely dominated possession and ground in east London and looked clearly on course for all three points after Bernardo Silva’s misplaced shot looped past Mads Hermansen just after the half-hour mark.
But just four minutes later, Gianluigi Donnarumma converted Jarrod Bowen’s corner kick, and Konstantinos Mavropanos headed home a quick equalizer. This was West Ham’s only shot of the game. They fought hard in the second half to earn a valuable point and reach a safe position for the first time since December. They will now turn their attention to Nottingham Forest v Fulham, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports on Sunday.
West Ham’s Konstantinos Mavropanos is congratulated by Pablo after scoring (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Another missed cross, this time from a free kick by Rayan Cherki. City were one step closer, the ball skimming the bar and Marc Guehi heading towards goal for the last time. However, West Ham were also helped by Erling Haaland’s continued struggle in front of goal.
Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland’s reaction after hearing the final whistle
He has scored more goals against West Ham than any other Premier League opponent, but was frustrated when he missed one of his chances. Haaland and City are not at that level at the moment. And Arsenal have every right to believe that the crown will now be theirs.
Guardiola: “It’s not over yet”
Man City manager Josep Guardiola asked TNT Sports whether the title race was over.
“It’s not over. I’m not defeated.”
On Erling Haaland’s struggles: “Of course I miss him because there are no goals. I always believe in connections and many things create a good interaction. But Erling, we need his goals.”
“We need to create more. He had three chances (in the first half). Sometimes you have to create threats that we didn’t have.”
“He will come back.”
Nuno: Proud to see the Hammers suffer the result
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo told TNT Sports.
“We performed well and achieved something that was really important to us. After all, the fans were with us. I’m proud to see the players struggling and giving their best.”
On getting out of the relegation zone: “That hasn’t changed, because what I think these days is that we believe in ourselves, we have the belief that we can do well. Again, that’s proven to not mean much, but that’s always a good thing.”
Bowen: That’s an important point for us.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen told TNT Sports.
“When you play Man City you have to be perfect when you don’t have the ball and I thought we defended really, really well. Mats was great in goal, the back five, everyone. And that’s a really important point for us.”
“If you just focus on yourself, perform well and get points, you don’t have to worry about other people.”
