Pep Guardiola and City have eased back to take a huge leap forward | Jonathan Wilson

Manchester City have changed the way they press and, though West Ham did offer some hope to the chasing pack, a quadruple suddenly looks possible

It is a measure of how well West Ham played at Manchester City that for a time it felt like a contest. City won in the end – of course they did – to take their run of successive victories to 20, but there were perhaps 10 minutes before half-time when they were unsettled. But by the end, the only question was how this run can ever be stopped: City at the moment feel relentless.

The Premier League title is as good as done, they’re 2-0 up after the away leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, they’re in the quarter-final of the FA Cup and the final of the Carabao Cup: a quadruple suddenly looks distinctly possible. And it is sudden: it is only 74 days since City drew at home against West Brom, a game they had kicked off while ninth in the table. The suggestion then was that this might be the weakest side Pep Guardiola has ever managed.

Related: Stones strikes against West Ham as Manchester City make it 20 in a row

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