OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini was aiming to get one over his former employer Manchester City on Saturday when his West Ham side hosted the current Premier League champions at the London Stadium.
However it wasn’t an enjoyable trip down memory lane for the Hammers boss as it took David Silva only 12 minutes to put Man City ahead.
Raheem Sterling then made it 2-0 as he bypassed Pablo Zabaleta to make it comfortable for his side within 25 minutes of play.
It only got worse for the Hammers as Man City went 3-0 up through Leroy Sane on the 34th minute and they didn’t seem to need to get out of third gear to be comfortable.
Man City then made it 4-0 in the final minutes of the match as Sane was able to grab his second of the match.
Forever West Ham has awarded every player a rating for their performance during the 4-0 defeat to Man City with one clearly the worst of the bunch as he only scored a 2/10 in what was a terrible day at the office.
Goalkeeper and defence
Lukasz Fabianski – 4 – It’s hard to rate Fabianski’s performance as he did concede a lot of goals but it would have been worse if the keeper between the sticks was less competent.
Pablo Zabaleta – 4 – Not much he could do to stop Sterling getting the better of him in first half, was left exposed.
Fabian Balbuena – 3 – Had his worst game in a Hammers shirt as he regularly got nowhere close to stopping Man City’s attack.
Issa Diop – 4 – Struggled to cope with Man City’s attack just like the rest of his fellow defenders, but he did make a few monster tackles to stop the scoreline being worse.
Arthur Masuaku- 2 – Unlucky the ball deflected off him to gift Silva the opportunity to score. However the rest of his poor performance was all his own fault. The 5ft 10in tall Masuaku (Source: Transfermarkt) was constantly exposed and his performance was embarrassing when you consider how easy he made it for Sterling to get past him.
Midfield
Declan Rice – 6.5 – Made a great tackle moments before his side went 1-0 down. Did all he could do to stop Man City having their way, but it was an impossible task, well it certainly seemed like it.
Pedro Obiang – 5 – Was at times bypassed in midfield but wasn’t exactly the easiest task to stop Man City’s creative maestro swerving around him. Gifted Michail Antonio a golden chance to pull a goal back after winning the ball back for his side.
Michail Antonio – 4 – Won a corner in the sixth minute as got the better of Aymeric Laporte but should have done more than that as he fluffed an opportunity to do damage due to dwelling on the ball. Created a good chance for Marko Arnautovic after the Hammers went 2-0 down. When going forward Antonio looked threatening up until his final ball but then was also easily bypassed by Man City whenever they went on the attack. Missed a golden opportunity to score.
Attack
Grady Diangana – 4 – Showed brief glimpses of talent but that’s about it.
Felipe Anderson – 4 – Cleared the ball straight to Silva in the early stages to hand Man City’s first chance at goal. Didn’t do his defensive duties well and this left the Hammers exposed but when going forward on rare occasions, he showed signs of his class. However there was nowhere near enough for him to earn a high score.
Marko Arnautovic – 4.5 – Had a decent effort following the Hammers going 2-0 down and did try to chip in with trying to stop Man City, but it’s not his strength. Worryingly looked injured by the time the match ended.
Substitutes
Aaron Cresswell on for Masuaku (45) – 4.5 – Definitely fared better than Masuaku, should have started based on his display.
Javier Hernandez on for Diangana (55) – 4.5 – Nearly assisted a goal upon entering the game, his arrival seem to improve the Hammers.
Lucas Perez on for Anderson (68) – 3- Pointless sub, invisible.
