Manchester City v West Ham: Groves shares ‘Weirdest’ thing after loss
West Ham United could easily have drawn at Manchester City despite crashing to a 4-1 defeat on Saturday, according to Perry Groves.
The Hammers forced 17 shots at the Etihad Stadium as they were eventually comprehensively beaten on 4 January, with just four on target as City scored from four of their 10 attempts.
Frustrations remain over Julen Lopetegui and his side, who have conceded nine goals in their last two league games, with the fourth-worst current defensive record in the Premier League.
Speaking live on talkSPORT 2 from the Etihad (4 January, 16:48) Groves admitted: “I have to say, this is the weirdest 4-1 game I think I’ve ever seen. This could’ve been 3-3 if West Ham had more quality in the final third. Normally, 4-1 is a thrashing, but that hasn’t been the case.”
West Ham must take ruthless look at the defence
West Ham may have been wasteful in the final third at the Etihad on Saturday, but will always struggle to gather a run of results unless they rapidly shore up the defence.
Granted, they faced Liverpool and Manchester City in their last two Premier League outings, but defensively played exactly into the hands of both sides. The same occurred against Arsenal in late November at the London Stadium – 14 goals shipped across the total 270 minutes of football.
Going forward, it is a redundant debate to wonder whether Jarrod Bowen’s presence would have made Lopetegui’s side more clinical because it will be a litmus test of where the team are without him for the coming weeks.
Niclas Fullkrug notched a consolation away from home not for the first time this season, and will always possess that knack of scoring goals. That must be executed as often as possible with the German striker as a focal point.
Up next for the Irons comes an FA Cup trip to Aston Villa (10 January), before hosting Fulham and Crystal Palace and revisiting Villa Park in the league to finish the month.
In other West Ham news, a talkSPORT pundit brutally tears into Edson Alvarez after what he did v Man City.
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