Photo: Manchester City captain, Vincent Kompany heads home his team’s third goal as the former champions cruised to a 3-0 win over West Brom over the Hawthorns on Monday night. (AFP)
Manchester City moved to the top of the Barclays Premier League on goal difference when they cruised to a 3-0 win over West Brom at the Hawthorns, in the first Monday Night match of the new season. A Yaya Toure first half brace gave them a comfortable lead before Captain Vincent Kompany put the game to bed with the third of the game as, the former champions barely broke a sweat.
Manchester City looked like the home team from the outset and took the lead when a shot from Yaya Toure deflected off David Silva and trickled over the line, passed a wrong footed Boaz Myhill in the 9th minute.
West Brom failed to put pressure on the ball which allowed David Silva to pull the strings in the midfield playing off of striker Wilfred Bony who started in place of the rest Sergio Aguero.
If there was any doubt as to who was the scorer of the first goal, there certainly wasn’t any about the second. Another slick City move saw Bony laying the ball into the path of Toure who curled the ball into the roof of the net for 2-0 with a quarter of the game played.
West Brom was finding it difficult to get out of their half and the game should have been put to bed with five minutes before the interval. New signing, Raheem Sterling, who was having plenty of space down the left flank, found himself one-on-one with Myhill but shot straight at the keeper with the whole goal to aim at.
The home team came out with a lot more ambition and came within inches of pulling one back just after the break. A Rickie Lambert free kick from distance just skimmed the roof of the net as the Baggies threatened to get back into the game.
But any real chance of a comeback was snuffed out when Kompany popped up to plant a header, direct from a corner, into the back of the net. The Belgian lost his marker before arriving at the near post to meet the ball and steer his header home. Kompany’s goal celebration showed just how much it meant to the player who endured a poor season, by his high standards, last term.
James Morrison should have grabbed a consolation for Tony Pulis’s team in the 77th minute when he was picked out by Christ Brunt but his header went straight to Joe Hart in the City goal from very close range.
The Manchester City display would have raised a few eyebrows as the team from the blue side of Manchester put in the most impressive performance of the opening weekend.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login