Apart from the Champions League clashes, there was another Premier League match played on Wednesday night. Despite troubles with UEFA, Manchester City managed to beat West Ham convincingly and took all three points at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City dominated the game, enjoyed 72.89%. With Rodrigo Hernández’s and Kevin De Bruyne’s goal, City have 54 points and keep a four-point gap with Leicester City and stay second in the table.
In this tactical analysis, we will focus on how Pep Guardiola’s team outplayed David Moyes’ West Ham.
Lineups
City played with a 4-3-3 formation. Both wingers, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane were not available to join the match; which meant Gabriel Jesus started on the left flank, which was a huge part of the setup. City fans would be glad to see Aymeric Laporte return to the starting eleven giving Fernandinho a chance to rest.
Moyes played his team in a 5-4-1 formation, he kept some offensive players on the bench, including Manuel Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Sébastien Haller and the new signing Jarrod Bowen. Another arrival, Tomáš Souček started in midfield with Mark Noble and Declan Rice. Michail Antonio played as the lone striker.
Defensive setup of West Ham
Despite starting in a 5-4-1, Moyes tried to retain numbers in the offensive transitions of his team. On occasion, he reduced Robert Snodgrass defensive responsibility, allowing his team to defend in a 5-3-2 low block. Therefore, the defensive responsibility was on the midfielders.
In hopes of keeping both advanced creative playmakers David Silva and De Bruyne silent, he used his midfield three to cover both players, while Souček pressed Rodri in most cases. Ideally, this would force City to play wide, and given that both wingers were not conventional wingers, City were likely to cross from deep through Benjamin Mendy. With the physical superiority of Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop, Moyes felt his team had sufficient numbers and ability to deal with the crosses in a back three.
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