As one Manchester City player finds his feet at the Etihad and another youngster takes his chance, Pep Guardiola might have taken a glance to his left on Saturday.

Savinho earned a deserved standing ovation from the Etihad crowd as he registered a hat-trick of assists to surge ahead in the club's playmaker charts. It's nine for the season now with four coming in the last two games as well as a first goal and a penalty won.

James McAtee replaced the in-form Brazilian, who admitted in the programme that it was a weight lifted to score at Leicester last week, and he used that weightlessness to glide around the Etihad against West Ham.

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City have seven points from nine all of a sudden, with Savinho a key player in that mini-revival. So too has McAtee been, architect of the second goal at Leicester and deserving of another run-out against West Ham.

Watching that substitution take place, a few yards away, were three players who Guardiola overlooked. Jack Grealish, still to find consistency in his fitness and performances this season, stood warming up for most of the second half with Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes alongside him. They had been still for a few minutes, almost resigned to not coming on.

£208m of transfer fees spent in the attacking midfield and wide areas, but all three have been outshone by others recently. Nunes has had his important moments, and Grealish was undroppable in the treble season, while Doku has been far from a failure.

However, for Savinho to look more like a City player in recent games than any of the other options have in a while is as much damning on them as it is reflective of Savinho's hard work.

Of course, form can propel anybody into a starting position. Phil Foden looked poor at Leicester but much sharper against West Ham.

For now, it is Foden and Savinho who look like becoming the go-to wing pairing that Guardiola has lacked all season. Foden's cross-field ball for Savinho to swing in the second was the first example of two wingers working together for a long time.

Grealish did get on the pitch but had minimal impact in a game without any tempo. Doku and Nunes - on his way back from injury - could only watch on.

Guardiola has been waiting all season for his forwards to step up and take responsibility. Led by Savinho, that is now happening. Grealish, Doku and Nunes must respond or risk dropping further down the pecking order.