Manchester: Alvaro Negredo plundered a hat-trick as Manchester City destroyed West Ham United 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to all but qualify for the League Cup final.
West Ham had seen a second-string team embarrassed 5-0 at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Sunday, but even the return of several first-team players could not prevent a mauling by City’s ruthless forwards in the semi-final first leg.
A smartly taken brace from Negredo and a goal from the marauding Yaya Toure put City 3-0 up, with Negredo completing his hat-trick in the second half before Edin Dzeko sealed victory with two goals of his own.
Manuel Pellegrini’s City have now scored 59 goals in their 15 home games to date this season and their place in the final appears a formality ahead of the return leg at Upton Park on January 21.
“It’s never finished until the end, but I think that today we have one leg in the final,” City manager Pellegrini told Sky Sports.
“For me, the most important thing was not to score the six goals, but it was the way that this team must play. It’s very important to continue scoring goals, but also it’s very important not to concede goals.
“We have to play another game, the second leg, in London and we’ll try to continue to play, independent of what we did here today.”
For injury-ravaged West Ham, meanwhile, focus will reluctantly return to the fight to haul themselves out of the Premier League relegation zone.
“It’s not unique to us, is it? Manchester City have done this to Tottenham and Manchester United,” said manager Sam Allardyce.
“We knew they had to have an off night and they didn’t. Their finishing was outstanding in every sense of the word.
“We haven’t got a fully fit squad and we are in a hole and we need to dig ourselves out.”
Allardyce made eight changes to the team thrashed at Forest, handing a debut to new loan signing Roger Johnson, while Toure and Vincent Kompany were among the returning players in a strong City XI.
