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Player Ratings: Manchester City 1-2 West Ham United

Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains after Manchester City's shock 2-1 defeat by West Ham United at Eastlands.

West Ham United produced a herculean defensive effort to end Manchester City's 100% start to the Premier League season by beating them 2-1 at Eastlands tonight.

First-half goals from Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho gave the Hammers - who had already beaten Arsenal and Liverpool away this season - a shock 2-0 lead.

Kevin De Bruyne threw the hosts a lifeline by reducing the arrears before the break, but it proved a false dawn as United held strong throughout a one-sided second half for a hat-trick of unlikely away wins.

Here, Sports Mole analyses how the players fared on a night when City's immaculate start came to a grinding halt.

Diafra Sakho of West Ham United scores his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on September 19, 2015© Getty Images



MANCHESTER CITY

Goal

Joe Hart: Questions will be asked over how he was beaten at his near post for Moses's opener, and was also in no man's land for the second from a corner. Nowhere near his best. (4/10)

Defence

Bacary Sagna: Got forward well and caused Cresswell a host of problems, but his end product let him down more often than not. (5/10)

Nicolas Otamendi: Bailed out the unstable Mangala on a host of occasions and overall looked far more solid than his centre-back partner, despite only being in English football a matter of weeks. (7/10)

Eliaquim Mangala: Partially culpable for West Ham's opener after refusing to close down Moses quick enough, but the Frenchman atoned with a goal-saving block on Sakho later in the first half. Subbed at half time. (5/10)

Aleksandar Kolarov: Was unable to get forward as much as he would have liked due to Moses's threat, and the Serbian was almost responsible for a third goal, to make it 3-0, but Mangala bailed him out. (5/10)

Midfield

Fernandinho: Linked defence with attack brilliantly as usual and pulled off a host of excellent challenges to prevent the Hammers from countering in the first half. (6/10)

Yaya Toure: Came into the game much more after the break as he drilled agonisingly wide on a few occasions, but he was ultimately helpless to inspire a comeback. (5/10)

Jesus Navas: Like Toure, the Spaniard, a late inclusion in the first XI following Silva's injury, only began to play after the break but, despite getting himself into a host of excellent positions, failed to pick out blue shirts all evening. (5/10)

Kevin De Bruyne: Lukewarm home Premier League debut for the Belgian, who scored, but did precious little else. Some good moments but a whole host of poor final balls, too. (6/10)

Raheem Sterling: One or two promising moments, but overall the £49m man looked nowhere near his price-tag this evening and right-back Jenkinson was seldom troubled. Subbed for Bony on 65 minutes. (5/10)

Attack

Sergio Aguero: Ever so frustrating for the Argentine, who only had one clear-cut chance in 90 minutes. Had plenty of half chances but Adrian denied him on each and every occasion. (5/10)

Substitutes

Martin Demichelis: Subbed on at half time for the wayward Mangala but was duly untested throughout the second period as all the action occurred at the opposite end. (6/10)

Wilfried Bony: Replaced the quiet Sterling but did not fare much better himself. (4/10)



WEST HAM UNITED

Goal

Adrian: A bad bit of judgement almost saw City equalise in the first half, but the stopper, returning from a three-match ban, was outstanding from then on and his finger-tip save to deny Otamendi preserved the win. (8/10)

Defence

Carl Jenkinson: Was expected to be given a torrid time by Sterling, but defied his critics with an excellent display against the tricky winger. (7/10)

James Tomkins: Excellent alongside Reid as the centre-half proved his durability after a number of outings at right-back in recent weeks. (7/10)

Winston Reid: Every bit a warrior as his fellow New Zealanders who will be vying for a second-straight rugby World Cup in Britain over the coming weeks. (9/10)

Aaron Cresswell: Allowed Navas far too much time and space on the right wing throughout the second half, but fortunately for him the Spaniard's delivery let him down time and again. (5/10)

Midfield

Mark Noble: Threw his body and face in the line of fire time and time again as he blocked a number of ferocious City efforts in the second half. (8/10)

Pedro Obiang: Solid overall, but the summer signing was fortunate that Toure missed the target early in the second half when Obiang allowed him far too much space. (6/10)

Manuel Lanzini: Booked for a foul on Sterling and withdrawn shortly before the 70-minute mark as he looked increasingly lightweight at a time when heavyweights were needed. (5/10)

Victor Moses: Drilled an excellent low shot past Hart for the opener but saw less and less of the ball as time went on. (7/10)

Dimitri Payet: Relatively quiet by his own high standards so far, but delivered the corner which eventually led to the Hammers' second of the night. (5/10)

Attack

Diafra Sakho: Did well to bundle home what proved the decisive goal and did not shirk any defensive work as he played a role in the herculean performance after the break. (7/10)

Substitutes

Nikica Jelavic: Saw very little of the ball during his 20-minute cameo. (4/10)

James Collins: Replaced Jenkinson late on and helped drag West Ham over the finish line. (5/10)


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Victor Moses of West Ham United celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on September 19, 2015
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Match Analysis: Manchester City 1-2 West Ham United
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