Manchester City have won the 2023/24 Premier League title, becoming the first EPL club to win four consecutive league titles in the history of the league.
The Cityzens head into the final matchday with a two-point advantage over challengers Arsenal. With an inferior goal difference to the Gunners, the Pep Guardiola-led side needed nothing less from victory to clinch their record-extending Premier League title.
City got off the mark against the Hammers with their quickest Premier League goal this season. Mavrapanos had failed to clear his lines in a costly defensive error which was well-exploited by City’s attackers.
Erling Haaland got hold of the ball after the error and found De Bruyne, who laid it out to Bernardo Silva. Silva charged down the right and threaded it to Foden inside West Ham’s penalty area.
Left unmarked, the 23-year-old made no mistake as he rifled a curled effort into the back of the net past Alphonse Areole.
The goal saw City went one-goal up with just two minutes into the game. West Ham did little to mount a response but continued to reel under the hosts’ pressure.
Fourteen minutes after his opener, Phil Foden was on target again for the rampant City side, to double the lead and bag his brace. It was another incredible finish by the England youngster but Josko Gvardiol’s beautiful legwork proved crucial in the buildup.
The Croatian defensive sensation stole his way past two West Ham players before squaring the ball to Foden, who fired a first-time finish past Areole to make it 2-0.
Six minutes later, City would have gone three goals up save for Erling Haaland’s miss from five yards. The Norwegian had attempted to divert home Dias’ ball with a flying scissor-kick but missed it.
West Ham were overwhelmed but were promising on the counter. The visitors’ first big chance came in the 38th minute when Kudus attempted a curled effort on goal but Stefan Ortega punched it away.
Four minutes later, Kudus made up for the miss as West Ham emerged from nowhere into the game. The Ghana international scored a stunning overhead kick in the 42nd minute from James Ward-Prowse’s inswinging corner.
Kudus’ sensational goal was enough to halve the deficit for the visitors before the break.
It was nervy for City at the break after their seemingly unassailable two-goal lead was halved by Kudus’ brilliant solo effort.
However, Rodri restored the two-goal lead a minute before the hour mark firing a thunderbolt past West Ham goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
West Ham United did little to respond as they continued reeling under pressure, and it was obvious Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City winning machine were running out with a victory to clear the Premier League title.
A minute to regulation time, West Ham thought they have reduced the deficit again but the goal was chalked off after VAR check. The game ended 3-1 with City securing a deserved victory to win their fourth successive Premier League title.
