City Still Fighting

            In another Premier League match, Manchester City took on West Ham United at home. City were coming in to the game in need of a boost in confidence following a slump of sorts for the past few games. The final score of 2-0 should serve to that purpose quite well, especially considering the means by which it came. For City’s first goal against West Ham, the visitors even went so far as to score for them, bringing energy to the team. The second goal came from a successful counter attack and put the game far enough out of West Ham’s reach to ruin any hope of a comeback.

            The game also held some controversial playing and calling by both the players and the officials. To start, Silva was booked for his arm brushing up against West Ham’s Winston Reid who was quick to dramatically fall to the ground holding his nose. Then, David Silva had to be treated on the field for a face injury caused by, you guessed it, Winston Reid. Not only was this the same offense (except actually real) committed opposite earlier, but it led to a lengthy treatment that added 7 minutes of stoppage time to the already stretched out game. The 7 minutes gave no more hope to West Ham as the game was already way beyond reach.

            Now for some player overviews throughout the game, the center back position held some hope and confidence for one player but inactivity for another. Martin Demichelis started the game well, but fell into a slump later in the game, losing concentration (and the ball) during important times and even becoming injured due to silly errors later in the game. However, Eliaquim Mangala took the game a different direction; playing confidently and efficiently, he took care of things in the center back position and proved himself well. As for City’s attacking end, play was quite efficient for the most part and players took care of business. Aguero took to excelling as usual, and was able to be involved in the buildup and even scored the second goal. Frank Lampard was involved, but not majorly, and just did things as he needed to: nothing outstanding but was not lacking in any way. Jesus Navas was one City player that stood out among the team, and for good reason. The entire game, Navas was all over the place in the midfield, taking advantage of West Ham’s lazy defending. He was involved in both goals, and was able to make passes when he needed to.

            The main goal for Manchester City from this game was obviously to get themselves back into the title race. With Chelsea far above the pack and the season coming to an end, City needs to do all they can to stay in the race. A 2-0 win against West Ham should get the job done, and it hopefully serves as a good confidence boost for the team.