West Ham 0-5 Manchester City: 5 Hits and Flops

#2 Hit: Riyad Mahrez

Mahrez and Sterling combined well on multiple occasions during a second-half goal-fest

In the aftermath of Leroy Sane's serious ACL injury, 2019/20 has now become Riyad Mahrez's most important campaign to date. He endured some struggles following his £60m switch from Leicester with consistency the biggest question mark, not least against top sides.

Sane will be sidelined until February-March at the very least, meaning more regular minutes and opportunities for the Algerian to shine. Having spearheaded his nation to their first Africa Cup of Nations title in 29 years last month, the 28-year-old will have ample confidence to improve upon a season where he netted seven goals and created four assists in 27 league appearances.

For a player of his ability, those numbers simply aren't good enough and it's why he has divided opinion on Eastlands since the big-money switch. New summer acquisition Rodri (£63m) has since broken their club-record transfer fee, though he's six years younger and excels in more of a niche role than Mahrez ever will.

However, the saying is start as you mean to go on. Mahrez created two assists and probably should've added his name to the scoresheet too during a game where West Ham's defensive deficiencies were exposed by the champions, who weren't even at full-strength.

It was his beautifully-weighted lofted pass which fed Raheem Sterling's intelligent run for his second of the afternoon, before winning the penalty for their fourth goal after baiting Issa Diop into a needless challenge.

Then, he teed up Sterling again - this time to complete his hat-trick in stoppage-time to make it 5-0. He now has 12 goals and 14 assists in 45 appearances (across all competitions) for City, statistics he'll be looking to improve upon quickly as part of a dangerous attack packed with chances galore.

Amazing way to start the season 💥 !! A great team performance and very happy @sterling7 my G 🎩⚽️⚽️⚽️ @mancity pic.twitter.com/FbjDr5IiFl

— Riyad Mahrez (@Mahrez22) August 10, 2019