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Manchester City got the better of West Ham in a game affected by challenging conditions that ended as a 2-1 win to the hosts.

Conditions were tough at the Etihad Stadium, where there was plenty of snowfall. It made for a competitive battle between the two sides.

City first went close when Aymeric Laporte headed just off the bar after a corner from Gundogan.

Shortly after, they also thought they had taken the lead when Riyad Mahrez put the ball in the back of the net, only to be ruled offside. VAR upheld the assistant referee’s decision.

City began to up the pressure with Gundogan getting a couple of chances. One led to a simple save for Lukasz Fabianski and another went wide.

But the breakthrough came in the 33rd minute when Mahrez sent the ball across the box. It ended up in the path of none other than Gundogan who provided the finishing touch.

It could have been two were it not for Ben Johnson making a goalline clearance to deny Mahrez.

The first half was not without moments of pressure from West Ham either, such as an Aaron Cresswell free kick that was deflected behind. But City went in with the advantage at the break, before the grounds staff got busy clearing snow from the turf.

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Manchester City double lead in second half

There was a slight delay to the resumption due to the work on the pitch. When things got back underway, City had a chance when Raheem Sterling slid through Gabriel Jesus, only for Cresswell to clear from the goalline.

At the other end, West Ham tried to fashion some of their own chances. However, a frustrating moment came when Michail Antonio and Vladimir Coufal got in each other’s way and allowed City to clear any danger.

The visitors upped the pressure as the closing stages approached. Declan Rice forced a save from Ederson, for example.

City knew their lead was under threat, so they tried to extend it when Gundogan shot at goal after being teed up by Sterling. However, Fabianski was equal to it.

The pressure was relieved though when City did double their advantage. Fernandinho, recently on as a substitute, was the player to thank as he found the net.

West Ham pulled one back in stoppage time courtesy of Manuel Lanzini, whose excellent finish went in off the post. It was merely a consolation, though.

Thanks to their win, City have moved on to 29 points from 13 games. They are thus level with league leaders Chelsea, who have a game in hand kicking off at 4:30pm on Sunday.

West Ham are fourth in the table despite the defeat.

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