Five Things We Learned: West Ham 1-1 Manchester City (Premier League)

A blunt and benign Manchester City fell to a disappointing draw at the London Stadium, after Michail Antonio’s goal for West Ham was cancelled out by substitute Phil Foden early in the second-half.

Here’s five things we learned from another chastening result… 

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Another Baffling Selection

I can’t for the life of me work out why Pep Guardiola looked at the performance on Wednesday against Porto and felt that playing an unchanged line-up was justified. In midweek we looked drab, devoid of creativity. That only really changed when Ferran Torres and Phil Foden came on, and they were the two players who created our only goal from open play all game. So why were neither of them starting today?

Another issue was Riyad Mahrez. He’s having a really bad start to the season, it can’t be denied any more. Especially late on in the match, three or four good chances were squandered because he simply doesn’t look sharp. I can’t understand why Torres wasn’t subbed on for the Algerian in the second half, and I feel like Ferran’s energy and confidence might have stretched West Ham and bought us the breakthrough we needed. 

(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Foden Deserves a Promotion

Since the Premier League restarted for the final rounds of last season, Phil Foden has looked extremely impressive almost every time he’s played. His capacity for goals and assists combined outdoes all but a handful of other players in the squad, and he’s rarely caught loose in possession. 

So why is he still being treated like a squad player? Just as Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne start every important game when fit, so too should Foden. We look a far better team with him in the side, and he offers significantly more energy than anyone else in the midfield. It wasn’t a coincidence that we started looking better as soon as he came on, and of course he scored the all-important equaliser. I don’t get why he’s not starting more games but at least Pep had the good sense to bring him on at half-time, otherwise today would have gone even worse for us. 

(Photo by Justin Tallis – Pool/Getty Images) The Composure is Gone

Recently it’s felt like if we’re not winning by the hour mark, we’re not going to win. In these situations, where we desperately need a goal, it seems that the composure we used to hold throughout games just evaporates and is replaced by frantic, panicky forcing of passes that go nowhere.

How many times today did we whip in a cross to a target man that doesn’t exist? How many balls just got smacked against the shins of a nearby defender without threatening to reach a City player? I think we could’ve gotten three points from this game had the players stayed calm and patient on the ball. Instead we conceded possession far too often and the result was an inevitability. 

(Photo by PAUL CHILDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Cancelo Still Has Promise

I don’t think many people will argue when I say that Joao Cancelo had a very underwhelming debut season as a Manchester City player. Brought in to challenge and probably replace Kyle Walker, who was coming off the back of a relatively poor season, the Portuguese international instead found himself on the bench for most of the year. When he did play, it was often at left-back – Walker was superb last campaign and Cancelo struggled to displace him. 

He still hasn’t looked particularly solid in defence this season, if I’m being honest, but this game was a good reminder of why we bought him in the first place. Even playing on his weaker flank, he still displayed plenty of attacking flair and creativity. It was Cancelo who created Foden’s equaliser, without which we’d have probably gone home empty-handed. He could be here for a long time yet, remember, and is probably a player who’ll benefit the next manager more than Pep. If whoever they are can iron out his defensive deficiencies, we have a real player on our hands. 

(Photo by Paul Childs – Pool/Getty Images) Our Passing Needs Practice

This seems almost an absurd thing to say about a Pep Guardiola side, but today it was hard not to notice one particular problem that we seemed to have time and time again. I lost track of the number of attacks today that broke down because of poorly-weighted passes. 

So often, it was an overhit ball that went astray, rolling straight past our forwards and usually out for a goal kick. For a team that’s built on slick, intelligent passing, we can’t afford to keep giving the ball away in situations like that one- especially when the other team will take every chance they get to waste a few extra seconds. 

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

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