Foden strikes but Man City slip to disappointing West Ham draw

Manchester City came from behind to draw against West Ham on Saturday as Pep Guardiola’s men lost more ground in a bid to get their season up and running.

Michail Antonio put the Hammers 1-0 in front early on with a superb overhead kick before substitute Phil Foden levelled things up just after the break, meaning City have won just twice in their opening five matches this term.

“I’m not a guy who can predict the future,” Guardiola told BT Sport after the game. “We’ve already dropped seven points, which is a lot. But we’ve struggled a lot for many reasons. We have to take things game by game and see what happens.”

The result continued City’s remarkable record of winning just one Premier League away game in 25 years when they were trailing at half time — a span that has seen them lose 90 matches and draw 13 times.

Guardiola’s side began with much of the ball but little to show for it, while West Ham came into the match buoyed by their incredible comeback from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Tottenham last time out.

And they were celebrating again 18 minutes in thanks to a stunning piece of improvisation from Antonio. Vladimir Coufal’s cross found Antonio and he acrobatically diverted it past Ederson to put the hosts ahead. City thought Tomas Soucek handled the ball in the build up, but the goal stood after a VAR check.

Phil Foden equalised by Manchester City could not find a way to beat West Ham. Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Lukasz Fabianski did not have a notable save to make in the first half and David Moyes’ men played with a real verve and confidence, especially following the opener.

Guardiola named Kevin De Bruyne on the bench after the Belgium international missed last week’s 1-0 win over Arsenal through injury and the City boss sent out his players early for the second half, as they looked to turn the match around.

Foden was preferred to De Bruyne as he came on for Sergio Aguero, who toiled up front in the first half, and he was involved right away as he won City a corner following the restart.

And it wasn’t long before Foden made a telling contribution, as he found space inside the area, adjusted his feet and swivelled to send a low left-footed strike past Fabianski to equalise. It then went from bad to worse for the home side, with scorer Antonio limping off to be replaced by Andriy Yarmolenko.

City were a different side in the second half as West Ham struggled to keep up with their pressing and constant attacks, and De Bruyne was introduced with 20 minutes to go in a bid to break down a resolute home defence. But despite the odd scare in the closing stages, it was more frustration for Guardiola and City as West Ham held firm.

Speaking about Aguero’s substitution, Guardiola added: “Injury. No, I don’t know [what it is].

“It looks like a muscular injury.”