Manchester City 2 West Ham United 1: Blues register twentieth successive victory with win over Hammers

Goals from Ruben Dias and John Stones secure hard fought win against David Moyes' side

Manchester City beat West Ham 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to go 13 points clear at the top of the table. The Blues have now recorded an incredible 20 straight successive victories.

The match got underway with chances at both ends, and each team pressing high up the pitch. The visitors looked dangerous, and almost took the lead when Thomas Soucek's header was saved by Ederson 19 minutes in. Nine minutes later a yellow card was given to West Ham youngster Ben Johnson, who pulled back Riyad Mahrez. The resulting free kick, however, came to nothing.

City took the lead on the half hour, when a cross from Kevin De Bruyne was met perfectly by defender Ruben Dias to give put the hosts in front. David Moyes' side were undeterred though, and continued to put City under pressure. In the 39th minute striker Michail Antonio was inches away from scoring an equaliser with a close range shot, only to see it counce off the outside of the post. Shortlly after the on-loan Jesse Lingard had a shot saved by Ederson.

The Hammers finally equalised just before the interval. A quick counter attack saw Lingard fire towards goal and Antonio got a crucial touch to level the scores. The second half kicked off with both teams raring to have another go at each other. City dominated possession but were unable to breach a resolute West Ham back line. After an hour Pep Guardiola made changes, bringing on Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus for Ferran Torres and Sergio Aguero, who was understandably off te pace making his first start since October.

City scored what proved to be the winner in the 68th minute. The Blues won a corner and Riyad Mahrez found an open space from the rebound. The Algerian passed it to John Stones who struck the ball sweetly past Darren Randolph. The goal put the game firmly in City’s control and West Ham toiled for a second equaliser. A collision between Ederson and Antonio left the Brazilian keeper requiring treatment, but thankfullly there was no lasting damage.

City almost extended their lead ten minutes from time, but Zinchenko’s shot was blocked by Tomas Soucek, West Ham made late changes in an attempt to secure a point, and were almost rewarded in the last minute of added time but Issa Diop's header was just wide. Moments later the whistle sounded and City now had their 20th successive win after a very tight match.