This was a muted affair in which Manchester City kept West Ham on a long lead and twice pounced expertly via Ilkay Gündogan and Fernandinho to claim the points. The strikes were flashes of high quality from the champions whose control, once they settled, will please Pep Guardiola and though Manuel Lanzini scored in the 95th minute the result was never in doubt.
Gündogan’s finish came just after the half-hour and from this juncture City were hardly troubled by David Moyes’s men until the very end. As the congested winter schedule begins there was also an economy of effort that should be welcomed by a manager whose squad was depleted for a 13th Premier League game of the campaign that ended with his team in second place.
