Manchester City 3 West Ham 1: tactical analysis

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Manchester City eased to victory against West Ham to win a fourth consecutive Premier League title, and a sixth in seven seasons. Pep Guardiola’s team sealed their latest silverware with one of their now customary end-of-season charges. It is now 35 games unbeaten in all competitions, which is second only to Nottingham Forest’s 40-game run in 1978. Back then, it was the brilliant management of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor that guided Forest to a league title and two European Cups. Now Guardiola has become just the fourth manager to win six English league titles, after George Ramsay (six with Aston Villa), Bob Paisley (six with Liverpool) and Sir Alex Ferguson (13 with Manchester United).

City’s latest final-day triumph was never really in doubt against West Ham, with David Moyes taking charge of the Hammers for a 262nd and final game. An on-song Phil Foden opened the scoring with a second-minute rocket to set the tone. Foden – the Football Writers’ and Premier League Player of the Year – then doubled City’s lead, before a brilliant Mohammed Kudus overhead kick breathed life back into the contest, as well as Arsenal’s fading title hopes.

But given that, since 2012, City have closed out five titles on the last day of the season, there was always a sense they would get over the line here. Step forward Rodri – who has gone an astonishing 50 Premier League games without losing – to restore City’s two-goal lead and remove any real jeopardy. There was one last moment of concern, when Tomas Soucek put the ball in the back of the net for West Ham on 88 minutes. The VAR officials swiftly ruled it out, and with it removed any doubt that City would be crowned champions again.

How the managers saw it

“In terms of numbers, nobody has been better than us,” said Guardiola. “The records, the goals, the points and four in a row. If I land here tomorrow and you say I will win six Premier Leagues in seven years, I would say: ‘Are you crazy?’ It’s impossible. We have done something unbelievable.”

“We started the game really poorly, but I have to say Foden’s first goal was a brilliant goal,” said Moyes. “It took the wind out of us right away, but the players stuck at it. We just couldn’t quite get the ball off them enough. I think they had about 40 passes before they scored their third goal, and we could probably have done a bit better.”

Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches highlight the key tactical points from this title decider…

Starting line-ups

Manchester CityWest Ham

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Manchester City4-3-3

West Ham3-4-3

18Stefan Ortega

23Alphonse Areola

24Josko Gvardiol

15Konstantinos Mavropanos

25Manuel Akanji

4Kurt Zouma

3Rúben Dias

3Aaron Cresswell

2Kyle Walker

5Vladimír Coufal

47Phil Foden

28Tomas Soucek

16Rodri

7James Ward-Prowse

17Kevin De Bruyne

33Emerson Palmieri

11Jérémy Doku

14Mohammed Kudus

9Erling Haaland

9Michail Antonio

20Bernardo Silva

10Lucas Paquetá

Breaking West Ham’s block

With their initial 4-3-3 shape, Manchester City spent most of the first half breaking down West Ham’s out-of-possession 5-3-2 low block. Wingers Bernardo Silva and Jérémy Doku stayed high and wide, with full-backs Kyle Walker and Josko Gvardiol supporting inside. Foden and Kevin De Bruyne operated as number eights, supporting either side of Erling Haaland, and just ahead of single pivot Rodri (below). With West Ham so deep and compact from kick-off, City needed a fast start. Foden gave them exactly that, with his receiving between the lines and superb finish.

Doku was particularly effective for City when attacking Vladimír Coufal in 1v1 situations. As a result, Gvardiol stayed inside, but moved much higher, operating around Konstantinos Mavropanos, stopping the West Ham man from doubling up on Doku. With Manuel Akanji moving into a double-pivot role alongside Rodri, both Foden and De Bruyne could then roam between the lines (below). This dangerous pair often ended in shooting positions around and sometimes ahead of Haaland, as was the case with Foden’s second goal.

West Ham were deep for long periods, with minimal counter-attacking threat, as Moyes pulled one of his front line – usually Lucas Paquetá – back to defend. City responded by keeping Akanji permanently as a second pivot, with Walker and Dias protecting against Michail Antonio. Gvardiol moved to a wide position on the hosts’ left, and Doku moved inside. There, the Belgian winger was closer to De Bruyne and Foden, who continued with their penetrative movements around Haaland (below). City were utterly dominant in the opening half, despite West Ham halving the deficit from Kudos’ bicycle kick.

Second-half amendments

Guardiola slightly amended City’s attacking structure in the second half, to manage the distances between players and make their counter-pressing more productive. West Ham had limited attacking numbers due to their defence-heavy strategy, with an isolated front-line pair. Nonetheless, City’s forwards and midfield unit worked incredibly hard to regain possession (below). Support in City’s press often came from their closest full-back, with a defensive intensity that limited West Ham’s second-half counter-attacking output. Indeed, the visitors barely entered City’s penalty area.

The champions could also counter-press higher. Their attacking shape in the second half focused on overloading one side of the pitch, drawing across West Ham’s back-five low block. For the most part, City placed numbers on their right side, again leaving Doku 1v1 against Coufal, but now in much bigger spaces. Gvardiol was significantly narrower after half-time – further creating space for Doku – but was also centrally positioned to counter-press alongside Rodri. Walker also pushed forward in the second half, allowing Silva to connect from a narrower position, working with De Bruyne to exploit the right inside channel (below). City’s crucial third goal came from right-side combinations, with Rodri’s strike beating a crowded box and Alphonse Areola.

The final whistle bought familiar scenes of celebration, but City’s season is not finished yet. Another FA Cup final Manchester derby awaits, with the chance to become the first club to win the league and FA Cup double in successive seasons. Manchester United will almost certainly have to play their best game of the season to have a chance of denying their local rivals more success.

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Author: The Coaches' Voice