Man City beat West Ham thanks to Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho goals

Elsewhere, this might have become a bit nervy. Elsewhere, anxiety might have enveloped the ground to the same extent as the Manchester snow. West Ham were by no means out of this until the final moments yet never really in it either. And West Ham are tricky customers.

Generally this place does not do anxiety. Manchester City only led by one until the last minute, before substitute Fernandinho sauntered on to unexpectedly wrap the game up, but they had kept the ball and then kept the ball a bit more.

They should have scored more but restricted their progressive visitors to a solitary shot – Declan Rice from 30 yards – from the 28th minute until Manuel Lanzini’s stunning stoppage-time consolation. And that is where another three points were won in the quest for consecutive league titles, the strangling of an encounter against an opponent capable of inflicting serious damage.

Manchester City celebrate their opening goal scored by Ilkay Gundogan in freezing temperatures and snow at the Etihad 

Gundogan finished from close range to hand City the lead 10 minutes before the end of the first-half in blizzard conditions 

The snow had stopped falling by the time City wrapped things up thanks to substitute Fernandinho in the closing moments

Fernandinho’s second was necessary, however, with Manuel Lanzini blasting home for West Ham deep into stoppage time

Sure, it is not an afternoon that will be poured over by either manager, nor will it feature prominently in any dissection of this season. For City, though, it does represent an impressive dispatch of upstarts who might well crash the top four. Once Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, City’s professionalism and ultimate control of midfield took hold.

Aside from his first goal in over a month, Gundogan again ran the game. Clever little passes to navigate clear of West Ham’s press, intelligent movement into space. He was ably assisted by Bernardo Silva, who is hitting the heights of 2019 when Pep Guardiola crowned him the country’s player of the year, while Raheem Sterling continues to impress.

Sterling has offered a new dimension in recent weeks, more direct in his running and a constant threat. City have needed that without Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish – all again absent yesterday, with only six outfield players on Guardiola’s bench.

‘With the amount of chances we create especially in the first half in the conditions, it’s a huge victory for us with the players’ effort and performance in general,’ the City boss said.

We might have been discussing a rout were it not for heroic defending and smart goalkeeping. Ben Johnson scampered back onto the line to block as Gabriel Jesus thought he had scored, while the Brazilian also believed that he had found the net after half-time. Jesus met a perfect Sterling cross but there was not quite enough on it, allowing Aaron Cresswell to hurtle back and hook clear. Cresswell took everything, smashing his back into the post and forced off injured.

Cresswell might look back at City’s opener with regret, however. The left back was too narrow as Joao Cancelo – the Premier League’s most inventive passer on current form – switched play with a raking 45-yard pass to Riyad Mahrez. He had too much time, flashing an effort into the six-yard box and Gundogan swept up. It would have been rude not to.

Contrasting emotions after Fernandinho’s goal settles the contest in the closing moments, killing off West Ham’s challenge

Rodri celebrates an important three points for City as they kept in touch with the Premier League leaders Chelsea 

The wintry weather made for some incredible scenes in Manchester though it was a slog at times for the players and fans

The Hammers, constantly urged by David Moyes to engage City higher up the pitch, had caused some problems early on, enough for Guardiola to barrack Ruben Dias after allowing them in behind too often. Michail Antonio’s bustling caused significant problems on the break.

Antonio clipped into Ederson’s side netting when barging beyond the cautioned Aymeric Laporte, while Said Benrahma forced the City goalkeeper into a smart stop down to his left. The champions did not have this all their own way until closer to half-time. Moyes suggested that his flair players can contribute more.

‘I am worried (about the attack), I’ve told them,’ Moyes said. ‘We’re needing to be better in that area. We’ve had opportunities. If you want to be at the top end, you need players who can create and beat people. We haven’t been that in recent games. We won in Europe in midweek but I thought our attacking play could have been cleaner.’

The chances were up the other end. Laporte headed against Fabianski’s far post from Gundogan’s corner. The one-touch sequences returned with more regularity, Sterling flashing wide when shimmying in from the left, Mahrez whacking a rebound onto the woodwork.

The Etihad Stadium ground staff worked hard during an extended half-time to clear the pitch of snow and ice 

West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski dives bravely at the feet of Joao Cancelo to deny Manchester City a goal 

Mahrez was earlier adjudged to have strayed offside when slamming into Lukasz Fabianski’s far corner, with Laporte also heading against the woodwork from Gundogan’s corner.

Cancelo continued to roam from left back, eager to inject energy into a meandering encounter, driving at the box and almost lifting over Fabianski. Sterling again turned provider, only for Fabianski to stand tall in thwarting the onrushing Gundogan.

Rice let fly from distance, straight at Ederson, before Fernandinho was sent on just to shore up the win. He did more than that, taking a Jesus cross in his stride and passing into the corner to score the second. With it, he became City’s 16th different goalscorer this season.

Lanzini struck back with the final kick – an eye-catching effort from the edge of the box – but it was immaterial other than stopping Ederson reaching a century of clean sheets for City.

Fabianski also blocked this effort from Bernardo Silva as City threatened to add to their goals tally at the Etihad Stadium 

Aaron Cresswell also made a brave intervention to deny Gabriel Jesus on the line, injuring himself after colliding with the post

Re-live how the action unfolded with ADAM SHERGOLD in our live blog below.