Everything Joe Hart and Shay Given said on MOTD about Nuno and West Ham vs Man City
West Ham United were comfortably beaten by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Erling Haaland scored twice, either side of Tijjani Reijnders’ smart finish, to guide Man City to a 3-0 win over West Ham.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now firmly in the relegation zone, five points adrift of safety and with their Premier League status at real risk.
The Hammers are winless across their last six games, and Joe Hart was quick to criticise one element of their performance after another defeat.
West Ham make unforgivable error against Man City
West Ham fans were taunting Haaland in the first half, but by that point, the Norwegian striker had already put his side ahead.
The 25-year-old went into the game against the Hammers sitting on 17 Premier League goals for the season, and he added another just five minutes into the contest.
Alphonse Areola initially kept out Haaland’s goalbound effort, but the centre-forward was quickest to react and fired home the rebound.
Speaking on BBC Match of the Day, former goalkeeper Hart slammed West Ham’s defending for the opener.
He said: “What I couldn’t understand in the first half is how much space they (West Ham) gave Haaland. You can’t give him two opportunities like that.”
Haaland provided the assist as Reijnders doubled the hosts’ advantage on 38 minutes, before grabbing his second and Man City’s third of the afternoon midway through the second half.
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West Ham have the tools for Premier League survival
After Graham Potter was replaced by Nuno at the London Stadium, West Ham underwent a mini-revival in the Premier League.
The Hammers won back-to-back games against Newcastle United and Burnley at the start of November, but have now picked up just three points from the six matches since.
West Ham now sit 18th in the Premier League with just 13 points from their first 17 games of the season.
Nuno’s side are five points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who face Fulham on Monday night, and six points adrift of the newly revitalised Leeds United.
After Christmas, West Ham do have a more favourable run of fixtures, and it could be a crucial period in their bid to stay in the top-flight.
| Date | Opponent |
| 27 Dec | Fulham (H) |
| 30 Dec | Brighton (H) |
| 3 Jan | Wolves (A) |
| 6 Jan | Nottingham Forest (H) |
| 17 Jan | Tottenham (A) |
| 24 Jan | Sunderland (H) |
Former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given believes that the East London side have the right manager to get them out of trouble.
He said: “In recent weeks, they have had a tough run, there’s no doubt about that.
“Of course, going to Manchester City is always a tough afternoon, but those fixtures coming up, they have got an opportunity. I do believe that in Nuno, they’ve got the right manager to get them out of trouble.”
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