West Ham United 1, Manchester City 4
West Ham manager David Moyes has challenged his faltering team to stave off the lingering threat of relegation by winning one of their three remaining Premier League fixtures.
Moyess concerns deepened with an emphatic home defeat against champions Manchester City, who scored through Leroy Sane, a Pablo Zabaleta own goal, Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho.
Read more: Moyes in confident mood after Carroll's late West Ham leveller
The Hammers remain 15th but, following Southamptons win over Bournemouth on Saturday, are now just three points above the bottom three and with an inferior goal difference to the Saints.
They face a trip to Leicester and visits from Manchester United and Everton in their final matches, and Moyes is optimistic they will do enough to retain their top-flight status.
“Im not as anxious as when I first came in, because we were in the bottom three then,” said Moyes, who took over in November.
“In the main our form here [at the London Stadium] has been pretty good. Im hoping one of those last two games will turn into points and we also go to Leicester. If we turn one of those into a win, I think well be OK.”
City manager Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, urged his players to make next weekends official coronation at home to Huddersfield even more memorable by securing a win that would break Chelseas 95-point record for the highest winning tally in the top flight.
Victory over West Ham also saw City move to the brink of the league records for most goals and most wins in a season, while they could yet set a new benchmark for biggest title-winning margin.
“Im happy we will receive the Premier League trophy and the chance to be the best team in history in England, with the most points,” said Guardiola of next Sunday.
“It is incredible. The numbers are a consequence of what we have done. We will try and surpass the number of goals and points but the guys have to play well and fight a lot.
“We needed some targets to set in front of us. But these players like to play football. They are professionals. They want to play for something, too. So, once we won the Premier League, the target became the numbers.”
City needed just 13 minutes to take the lead, although West Ham goalkeeper Adrian had little chance of stopping Sanes shot after it took a wicked deflection off the head of defender Patrice Evra.
A Hammers player got the last touch for Citys second, on 27 minutes, too. When Adrian got a hand to Kevin De Bruynes low cross he diverted it onto the shins of Declan Rice and the ball brushed Zabaleta on its way into the net.
West Ham, fuelled by a sense of injustice from a disallowed Marko Arnautovic effort, responded just before half-time when Aaron Cresswell whipped a free-kick around the wall and beat Ederson at his near post.
City restored their two-goal cushion early in the second half, however, when Raheem Sterling squared for Jesus to side-step Zabaleta and beat Adrian from close range.
Fernandinho swept home their fourth goal after he released Sterling down the right and charged into the penalty area to convert the England forwards return pass.
West Ham United 1, Manchester City 4
West Ham manager David Moyes has challenged his faltering team to stave off the lingering threat of relegation by winning one of their three remaining Premier League fixtures.
Moyess concerns deepened with an emphatic home defeat against champions Manchester City, who scored through Leroy Sane, a Pablo Zabaleta own goal, Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho.
Read more: Moyes in confident mood after Carroll's late West Ham leveller
The Hammers remain 15th but, following Southamptons win over Bournemouth on Saturday, are now just three points above the bottom three and with an inferior goal difference to the Saints.
They face a trip to Leicester and visits from Manchester United and Everton in their final matches, and Moyes is optimistic they will do enough to retain their top-flight status.
“Im not as anxious as when I first came in, because we were in the bottom three then,” said Moyes, who took over in November.
“In the main our form here [at the London Stadium] has been pretty good. Im hoping one of those last two games will turn into points and we also go to Leicester. If we turn one of those into a win, I think well be OK.”
City manager Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, urged his players to make next weekends official coronation at home to Huddersfield even more memorable by securing a win that would break Chelseas 95-point record for the highest winning tally in the top flight.
Victory over West Ham also saw City move to the brink of the league records for most goals and most wins in a season, while they could yet set a new benchmark for biggest title-winning margin.
“Im happy we will receive the Premier League trophy and the chance to be the best team in history in England, with the most points,” said Guardiola of next Sunday.
“It is incredible. The numbers are a consequence of what we have done. We will try and surpass the number of goals and points but the guys have to play well and fight a lot.
“We needed some targets to set in front of us. But these players like to play football. They are professionals. They want to play for something, too. So, once we won the Premier League, the target became the numbers.”
City needed just 13 minutes to take the lead, although West Ham goalkeeper Adrian had little chance of stopping Sanes shot after it took a wicked deflection off the head of defender Patrice Evra.
A Hammers player got the last touch for Citys second, on 27 minutes, too. When Adrian got a hand to Kevin De Bruynes low cross he diverted it onto the shins of Declan Rice and the ball brushed Zabaleta on its way into the net.
West Ham, fuelled by a sense of injustice from a disallowed Marko Arnautovic effort, responded just before half-time when Aaron Cresswell whipped a free-kick around the wall and beat Ederson at his near post.
City restored their two-goal cushion early in the second half, however, when Raheem Sterling squared for Jesus to side-step Zabaleta and beat Adrian from close range.
Fernandinho swept home their fourth goal after he released Sterling down the right and charged into the penalty area to convert the England forwards return pass.
