West Ham gave Manchester City a bit of a scare early in the second half, but Raheem Sterling’s second goal of the afternoon provided the home side with all three points at the Etihad Stadium.
The Citizens held on for a 3-1 win on Sunday after Sterling found the back of the net twice, with the second coming in the dying minutes from a close-range tap in.
In the 18th minute, Kevin de Bruyne hit a superb free kick directly into the path of Fernandinho, who smashed home a header to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage.
Without a host of players for the visitors, City took it to their opposition early on when David Silva started a strong attack down the center of the West Ham defense. The Spaniard played the ball out wide to Nolito before finding an open Raheem Sterling, who calmly slotted his effort into the corner for the lead after seven minutes.
Raheem Sterling just couldn't wait to get the party started for #MCFC https://t.co/Ke9q6uCVIk
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 28, 2016
Michail Antonio provided West Ham with a lifeline following halftime, however, it wasn’t enough for the visitors to complete the comeback. Antonio headed home at the far post just prior to the hour mark after Arthur Masuaku beat his man and found the attacker.