Commentator says West Ham player is the “worst” he’s ever seen after Man City defeat
West Ham’s nightmare season descended into further crisis as they suffered a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City 3-0 West Ham as Hammers humbled
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side are now condemned to spending Christmas in the relegation zone after their tenth Premier League defeat of a dismal campaign.
Erling Haaland was the architect of City’s dominant victory, scoring twice and creating the other goal as Pep Guardiola’s side registered their fifth consecutive Premier League win to temporarily move top of the table.
The Norwegian striker needed just five minutes to open the scoring when Phil Foden delivered a cross from the left that Haaland swept home, setting the tone for a one-sided encounter that exposed the gulf in class between the hosts and the struggling visitors.
West Ham offered precious little in response during a lacklustre first-half display, with only a Jarrod Bowen cross that ran through the box representing any sort of threat to City’s dominance at the Etihad.
The Hammers’ defensive frailties were brutally exposed again in the 38th minute when Rayan Cherki beat Mateus Fernandes to the ball and wriggled into the penalty area before feeding Haaland, who had no room to shoot himself but intelligently laid the ball off for Tijjani Reijnders to smash into the roof of the net from close range.
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The visitors showed greater energy after the interval and briefly threatened when Crysencio Summerville won possession on the left and crossed from the byline, forcing Gianluigi Donnarumma to react quickly and parry Freddie Potts’ shot before Fernandes blasted the rebound over the crossbar.
Bowen dragged another effort wide as the Hammers enjoyed their best spell of the match, but City had further opportunities with Ruben Dias heading at Alphonse Areola and Foden shooting wide before Haaland killed off any lingering hopes of a West Ham comeback.
The third goal arrived in the 69th minute as City swept forward through substitutes Savinho and Rico Lewis, with Haaland finishing clinically to take his tally for club and country this season to 38 goals and put the result beyond any doubt.
Donnarumma was forced to block from Summerville as West Ham briefly flickered again in search of consolation, but Foden and Josko Gvardiol went close for City before Haaland shot narrowly wide in stoppage time, coming inches away from completing his hat-trick.
The defeat extends West Ham’s winless streak to six matches and leaves them marooned on 13 points from 16 games, three points from safety and guaranteed to spend the festive period in the bottom three for the fifth time in their history.
Nuno’s side were without both starting full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf who are on Africa Cup of Nations duty, further depleting a squad already struggling badly for form and confidence as the relegation battle intensifies heading into the new year.
Commentator makes brutal Max Kilman claim after West Ham defeat
It was also a nightmare afternoon for Max Kilman.
The Englishman failed to nullify Haaland’s constant threat throughout, adding to his collection of somewhat unconvincing displays, with commentator Tom Rennie making a brutal claim on X.
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Rennie, who also works for talkSPORT international as an editor, called Kilman the worst footballer he’s ever seen.
West Ham’s leaky backline is seriously contributing to their downfall this season, and a new centre-back next month is believed to be in their January transfer thinking.
While a striker is seen as the priority to replace the departing Niclas Füllkrug, Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell is a top target for West Ham with internal discussions held over a move.
Having a genuine alternative to the likes of Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo could be crucial if the east Londoners are to avoid a dreaded drop to the Championship.
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