City give Sven perfect start

Debutants combine to give visitors a flier

By Andy Clarke   Last updated: 11th August 2007

bianchi rolando manchester City goal v West Ham

Bianchi: Opening goal

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Sven Goran Eriksson's reign at Manchester City got off to the perfect start as goals from Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni gave his side a 2-0 win at West Ham.

Bianchi, the most expensive of Eriksson's eight summer recruits at £8.8million, touched in a cross-shot from Brazilian midfielder Elano to reward a bright opening spell for the visitors on 18 minutes.

The Hammers, who finished last season with seven wins in nine games to avoid relegation, improved after a sluggish opening half hour, but they rarely troubled keeper Kasper Schmeichel, one of six City debutants in the starting line-up and eight in all.

Another of those, Geovanni, wrapped up the points five minutes from time, striking a low shot past Robert Green after a rampaging run from Nedum Onuoha.

For the Hammers it was a miserable day with the high point the return of Dean Ashton.

Possession

Despite dominating possession for long periods in the first half, Alan Curbishley's side failed miserably to put any pressure on rookie keeper Schmeichel.

Eriksson must have feared for the 20-year-old, son of great Dane Peter.

Yet Schmeichel was a virtual spectator as City's defence, protected superbly by Dietmar Hamann and Michael Johnson, kept the Hammers at arm's length.

All the threat came from the visitors, with Martin Petrov particularly prolific in the shooting department.

The Bulgarian midfielder let fly from all angles without being able to beat Green.

It was Elano who provided the touch of class though. Deployed just behind lone striker Bianchi, Elano found space intelligently, never lost his composure and always threatened to cause problems.

The 26-year-old had already fired one snap-shot over when he collected Stephen Ireland's short pass after Luis Boa Morte had lost possession inside the City half.

Indication

Quickly sensing Matthew Upson might lack half a yard of pace, Elano ran straight at the England defender, then skipped round him with the minimum of fuss.

The low cross invited a far post finish and Bianchi - fourth highest scorer in Serie A last term - was on hand to tap home.

Curbishley gave a clear indication of what he thought about West Ham's attempts to level by hauling off both Boa Morte and Lee Bowyer during the interval.

For the moment Ashton, the man most Hammers fans and watching England coach Steve McClaren really wanted to see, remained on the bench. But the introduction of Matthew Etherington instantly brought the home side more threat.

Micah Richards needed all his impressive strength to prevent Craig Bellamy getting his head to Freddie Ljungberg's cross and with Schmeichel suddenly starting to wobble, the Hammers went for it.

Ljungberg was an inch away from turning home Etherington's cross but, with just under half an hour remaining Curbishley called on Ashton, who had not played a game since breaking an ankle on England duty 12 months ago.

Yet, with Richards matching Ashton stride for stride and jump for jump, the move actually stopped West Ham's flow, allowing City to force themselves back into the contest.

But the golden moment Ashton had been waiting for arrived 11 minutes from time as Etherington picked him out with a deep cross.

The striker took aim from 10 yards, only to see his first-time volley skim the crossbar.

It was the nearest West Ham came to spoiling Eriksson's day before substitute Geovanni rammed home number two four minutes from time.

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West Ham United Team Statistics Manchester City
0 Goals 2
0 1st Half Goals 1
3 Shots on Target 5
7 Shots off Target 7
1 Blocked Shots 2
5 Corners 3
15 Fouls 13
7 Offsides 7
0 Yellow Cards 5
0 Red Cards 0
76.2 Passing Success 71.9
17 Tackles 19
76.5 Tackles Success 100
60 Possession 40
54.8 Territorial Advantage 45.2