Pep Guardiola's first taste of the FA Cup ended triumphantly as his Manchester City side thrashed Premier League rivals West Ham in the third round. City led 3-0 at the break, Yaya Toure starting the rout by firing a debatable penalty into the bottom left corner. Havard Nordtveit bundled Bacary Sagna's teasing cross into his own net, just 146 seconds before David Silva's composed tap-in. Shortly after the restart, Sergio Aguero cheekily diverted in Toure's shot to become the third-highest goalscorer in City's history. And John Stones headed in his first Blues goal as the visitors comfortably saw the game out in a rapidly emptying London Stadium.
Following Friday's opening third-round tie, City are the first team in the pot for Monday's draw, which is live on BBC Two and online at 19:00 GMT. Guardiola has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks thanks to a combination of City's faltering form and his tetchy interviews. But his team responded with a devastating performance against the hapless Hammers. West Ham could not cope with the pace, power and precision of the visitors. Toure whipped in the spot-kick after Pablo Zabaleta fell over Angelo Ogbonna's standing leg before Nordtveit and Silva ensured City scored three first-half goals for the first time under their Spanish manager. The Blues were relentless as they condemned West Ham to their heaviest FA Cup home defeat.
Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach Guardiola has regularly been forced into defending his footballing philosophy in recent months but performances like this justify his perseverance. "West Ham could not live with their passing, their movement, their one-touch football," former England striker Alan Shearer said on Match of the Day.
Aguero has scored 154 goals for the Blues, now trailing only Tommy Johnson (166) and Eric Brook (178). Hammers manager Slaven Bilic claimed ahead of the game that City "were not that confident anymore" after Guardiola's methods had been questioned following his team's mixed form in the past couple of months. But that, in part, was down to his team's inability - or refusal - to put the away side under any serious pressure when they were in possession. The Hammers failed to press the visitors in their own half, allowing Toure - who had more touches and made more passes than anyone else in his 78 minutes on the pitch - to dictate from his holding midfield role.
However, it could all have been very different had Sofiane Feghouli not spurned a golden chance to pull the Hammers level at 1-1. The Algeria winger - only playing after his red card against Manchester United was rescinded - sidefooted wide of a gaping goal just seconds after Toure's penalty. And that proved the catalyst for the Hammers' collapse. "The way West Ham's heads went down is alarming. Alarming for the fans and for the manager. It was embarrassing," Shearer added.
The Hammers have struggled for consistency in front of goal this season, scoring just 23 times in their 20 Premier League matches - four of which were netted against Swansea on Boxing Day. Regular injuries to Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew have not helped matters, nor has on-loan Juventus forward Simone Zaza's inability to find his feet - or the net - in England. No wonder they have targeted an attacker in this transfer window, already having bids turned down for Sunderland's Jermain Defoe and Hull City's Robert Snodgrass.
This was another toothless performance. And, like the humiliating 5-1 defeat against Arsenal last month, they were worryingly disorganised and open at the back. With some home fans leaving after City's third goal and those left at the final whistle jeering his team, could Hammers hero Bilic be starting to come under pressure? West Ham managed just two shots on target - shown by the green arrows on the left graphic. City, meanwhile, peppered the Hammers goal - the right graphic - with 18 efforts
Man of the match was David Silva (Manchester City). City playmaker David Silva has earned the nickname 'Wizard' - and this game illustrated why. The Spain international pulled the strings as City ran riot, involved in virtually all of their attacking play before being given a rest after 58 minutes. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: "We were able to keep the ball more than the last games. We created more chances. Before the penalty we had three or four clear chances. After the second and third goal it was easy in the second half. "It's important to win away but it's not easy. I'd like to involve the fans and make them believe we are good. We are the good guys - we run a lot and fight." West Ham boss Slaven Bilic: "The penalty was the turning point because we looked good until then. It was maybe a soft one. "We had a great chance to equalise but we didn't. We made mistakes after the goal and started to chase the ball. Quickly it was 3-0 and game over. "It's a very bad day for us. It wasn't good enough. "What disappointed me the most is that we started to chase them all over the pitch and then conceded two more and it was all over."
