Manchester City inflicted their usual defeat on West Ham going into the international break and now Pep Guardiola has paid them the ultimate insult.
Relations between West Ham and Manchester City have always been friendly on and off the pitch.The Hammers and Man City are two clubs for working class people who have spent much of their history living in the shadows of their rivals.
There was much mutual celebration when West Ham and Manchester City were both crowned champions of Europe last summer.
The friendship between the two sets of fans can be charted back to a famous game between West Ham and Man City in 1987.
So it’s quite fitting that the new head coach in the Hammers hotseat Julen Lopetegui and Man City boss Pep Guardiola are close too.
The Spaniards were teammates many years ago at Barcelona and remain good friends.
Man City boss Guardiola pays West Ham the ultimate insult
That was evident pre and post the meeting between the Irons and Guardiola’s champions on Saturday.
Man City’s manager gave the Hammers big billing before the game.
He described West Ham’s window as ‘incredible’ and admitted they have serious weaponry up front.
When Saturday came, though, so did the now all too inevitable defeat and Erling Haaland show.
West Ham felt a touch hard done by to lose 3-1 – gifting Man City three simple goals and missing a host of chances at the other end.
It was a second consecutive home Premier League defeat to kick off the Lopetegui era in east London.
Hammers fans have been looking for positives to cling on to during the boredom of the international break.
But Man City boss Guardiola has instead paid West Ham the ultimate insult.
Although he has made a big claim about Lopetegui.