Man City 3-1 West Ham: Player ratings as Foden masterclass wins title

Manchester City cruised to a fourth consecutive Premier League title with a 3-1 win over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium.

Phil Foden, voted Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year in recent weeks, needed less than two minutes to get City ahead, arrowing a superb effort past the statuesque Alphonse Areola.

The 23-year-old was at it again just after the quarter-hour mark, latching on to Jeremy Doku's precise pullback to sweep into the bottom corner, but any hopes of City running away with things in the first half were suddenly halted by Mohammed Kudus' remarkable overhead kick.

City ultimately weren't perturbed by the brief disruption of normal duties, and scored a third just before the hour-mark through the metronomic Rodri - sealing a sixth Premier League title for Guardiola in the process.

How the game unfolded

City knew heading into the game that victory on the final day would clinch the title, no matter the result of Arsenal's clash with Everton in north London.

Pep Guardiola made one change from the midweek win over Tottenham Hotspur - Doku recalled to the starting lineup in place of Mateo Kovacic - but it was Stockport-born Foden who was front and centre after just 78 seconds of play.

West Ham failed to clear their lines as City looked to advance into the penalty area, with Bernardo Silva eventually shifting the ball left into the path of Foden. He instantly dropped his shoulder, benefitting from West Ham standing off him, and rocketed an unstoppable left-footed drive high into Areola's net.

It was a wonderful strike from Foden, which understandably sent the home support wild, and was the latest example of his ability to deliver in the big moments for City.

Doku went close to adding a second, forcing Areola into a fingertip save, before he turned provider for Foden with just 18 minutes on the clock. The Belgian's precise cutback was latched on to by the advancing England playmaker, who turned home his 19th Premier League goal of the season with a composed first-time finish.

At that point, it looked as though City would canter to the title - West Ham had just 18% possession in the first 30 minutes and allowed the home side 13 shots on Areola's goal and 28 touches in their penalty area.

West Ham did send a warning sign to City about their ability on the counter, as Kudus forced a smart save from Stefan Ortega, but few would have expected to see the Ghanaian smash home a tremendous overhead kick three minutes before the interval.

VAR determined their hadn't been a handball as James Ward-Prowse swung a dangerous corner into City's box, and Kudus acrobatically leapt to cut the deficit, much to the chagrin of a furious Guardiola.

In true champions style though, City put the disappointment of conceding behind them to immediately get back on the front foot. Kevin De Bruyne and Foden both shot wide before Bernardo laid the ball off for Rodri with 59 minutes gone, and the Spaniard side-footed a 20-yard effort past the despairing left hand of Areola.

West Ham didn't offer a threat thereafter, barring Tomas Soucek having a goal ruled out for the most obvious handball of the season, and City waltzed to a fourth successive Premier League crown - the first time that's been achieved since the competition's inception in 1992.

Man City player ratings (4-1-2-3)

GK: Stefan Ortega - 6/10 - Made a smart save from Kudus but could do nothing about the overhead kick that flew past him.

RB: Kyle Walker - 7/10 - Charged up and down the pitch with the usual verve and purpose we've come to expect from Walker.

CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - Cool, calm and collected in a defensively sound City performance.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 7/10 - Manchester City's big-money buys often steal the headlines but few are as consistent as a player who cost just £15m.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 7/10 - Failed to have the same impact as he has done in recent weeks, but still contributed plenty to City's wave of attacks.

DM: Rodri - 8/10 - Put the gloss on another polished performance with a perfectly controlled long-range shot.

AM: Kevin De Bruyne - 7/10 - For once not the star of the show for City, instead handing over the baton to his junior midfield partner.

AM: Phil Foden - 9/10 - Quickly put City at ease with a sensational goal just two minutes in. Doubled the lead soon after and was the standout player on show.

RW: Bernardo Silva - 8/10 - Two more assists for Bernardo, who continues to deliver for City in the big games.

ST: Erling Haaland - 6/10 - Kept pretty quiet by a compact, narrow West Ham defence.

LW: Jeremy Doku - 8/10 - A menacing threat throughout the afternoon, running at Vladimir Coufal and the rest of West Ham's backline.

Substitutes

SUB: Nathan Ake (71' for Akanji) - 6/10

SUB: Mateo Kovacic (90' for Foden) - N/A

Subs not used: Scott Carson (GK), John Stones, Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes, Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish, Julian Alvarez

Manager

Pep Guardiola - 8/10 - The Spaniard had won the Premier League title on the final day four times prior to this game - he knew how to get the job done. Team selection was spot on and City's players delivered.

West Ham player ratings (3-4-2-1)

GK: Alphonse Areola - 8/10 - Has arguably been West Ham's best player throughout 2023/24, such has been the Frenchman's shot-stopping workload. Kept plenty out here but may feel he could have done better with Rodri's effort.

CB: Konstantinos Mavropanos - 6/10 - Would have expected a busy afternoon's work against the champions and that's exactly what he got. Did okay.

CB: Kurt Zouma - 6/10 - Tasked with keeping Erling Haaland quiet, which ultimately he was successful at. Trouble is West Ham still conceded three.

CB: Aaron Cresswell - 5/10 - Lined up on the left-side of a back three but struggled to deal with City's fluid movement.

RWB: Vladimir Coufal - 6/10 - Diligent in his work against a lively, pacy Doku. Did well in the face of constant pressure.

CM: Tomas Soucek - 5/10 - Worked hard in central midfield but ultimately lacked the tools to do City any damage.

CM: James Ward-Prowse - 5/10 - Sluggish to get out and close down for City's opening goal, which set the tone for what was to come.

LWB: Emerson Palmieri - 6/10 - One of West Ham's brighter players, despite spending most of the afternoon out of possession.

AM: Lucas Paqueta - 5/10 - Expected to be on Manchester City's radar again this summer, the Brazilian's performance really wasn't the best audition. In fact, you wouldn't really have known he was playing.

AM: Mohammed Kudus - 7/10 - Spent much of the game on the periphery and will hope to play under a more attacking manager next season. Took the one quarter-chance he fashioned for himself in truly flamboyant style and showed his dribbling flair whenever he got the ball.

ST: Michail Antonio - 5/10 - Gamely ran around chasing lost causes up front but barely had a sniff.

Substitutes

SUB: Edson Alvarez (71' for Emerson) - 5/10 - Harshly booked for a sliding tackle on Bernardo - his 11th caution of the season.

SUB: George Earthy (81' for Antonio) - N/A

SUB: Danny Ings (86' for Paqueta) - N/A

Subs not used: Lukasz Fabianski (GK), Ben Johnson, Kaelan Casey, Angelo Ogbonna, Maxwel Cornet, Divin Mubama

Manager

David Moyes - 5/10 - West Ham were always going to set up defensively, but Moyes' side falling behind after just two minutes really did kill the buzz of the final day.

Player of the Match: Phil Foden (Man City)