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#3 Kevin De Bruyne moves into the list of top 10 assist providers in the Premier League
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the Manchester City players who is expected to provide assists every time he steps on the pitch. The Belgian playmaker, despite returning from an injury, bagged an assist against West Ham.
His exquisite cross for Dias' 30th-minute header was his 11th assist of the campaign, despite missing six games this season due to injury. That took his total assists tally in the English top flight to 77, with only nine other players bagging more assists in the competition than the Belgian
Among active Premier League players, only former Manchester City player James Milner is ahead of De Bruyne with 85 assists.
This campaign, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is the only other player with 11 assists across Europe's top five leagues.
Also Read: 5 Premier League players with the most assists in a single season.
#2 Ruben Dias and John Stones are becoming key players for Manchester City
Manchester City failed to keep a clean sheet on the night. But that could be attributed to West Ham's good play in the final third, which forced mistakes off the hosts' defence.
Nonetheless, Manchester City's centre-half duo of Ruben Dias and John Stones redeemed themselves by getting on the score sheet, with both players scoring from inside the box.
Dias has had an amazing debut season so far, while Stones' impressive performances have made him the first-choice defender over Aymeric Laporte.
With the pair at the heart of defence, Pep Guardiola's men have kept 11 clean sheets in the Premier League and conceded just three goals in 14 games, winning 13 of them.
#1 West Ham fail to stop the Manchester City juggernaut
West Ham started the game very positively, coming close twice to opening the scoring before Manchester City even recorded a shot on target. Even after they went behind in the first half, West Ham continued to search for goal-scoring opportunities and did not allow Manchester City to dominate.
Their efforts paid off, with Antonio scoring before the half-time whistle to restore parity. Manchester City, however, dominated possession and came out stronger in the second half, stepping up in the defensive third as well.
Just when it looked like the game would end 1-1 just as it had at the London Stadium in the reverse fixture, a moment of lethargy from the West Ham defence allowed Riyad Mahrez to whip in a cross. John Stones made no mistake and restored Manchester City's lead on the night.
Thereafter, Manchester City managed to see out the game to take all three points and continue their march towards a third Premier League title in four years.
Also Read: 10 football players with the most fans in the world.
