Manchester City proved there metal and mental toughness under pressure again yesterday when they had to come from behind to defeat an unlucky and resilient West Ham at the Etihad. The Hammers heroically managed to keep the Citizens at bay for the first half and on the stroke of half time Hammers central defender Ogbonna shocked the home fans as he rose above the city defence to fire in a bullet header and give the visitors a shock lead. City proved against Huddersfield and Southampton that they are fighters and that they have what it takes to win the tough, scrappy games against the Premier League’s lesser lights and they proved this again during the second half against West Ham.

City central defender Otamendi continue his good scoring record this season firing in the equalizer 12 minutes in to the second half courtesy of a Jesus assist and the goal was more like a striker’s finish as Otamendi was poaching near the six-yard box at the time. The winner came late on seven minutes from the end of normal time, this time via the clubs and leagues top assister Silva, who fired in a brilliant stretching volley set up by de Bruyne. The win was City’s 13 Premier League win in a row and it meant they maintained the eight-point gap between them and nearest challenger’s city rivals Manchester United who had earlier swept aside Arsenal in impressive fashion 3-1 at the Emirates on Saturday.

Bournemouth and Southampton were also in action on Sunday contending the New Forest derby at the Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth struck fist firing in the opener just before half-time, but the home fans were soon left feeling disappointed when Austin netted the equaliser a quarter hour in to the second half. The result left both teams in the bottom half of the table and Bournemouth are now level on points with Newcastle and still only five points clear of the relegation zone.