Manchester City cruised to a comfortable 3-1 victory over Hull City at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Citizens got off to a good start and nearly took the lead when Sergio Aguero played David Silva through on goal before getting his shot away, which was stopped by the keeper before Sane was denied on the rebound from point-blank range.
City had another scoring chance in the 25th minute when Yaya Toure found himself some space before bending his effort towards goal, but saw his curling effort guided high and wide of the target.
However, City managed to break the deadlock in the 31st minute when they sent a cross in the area, which was just over the head of Aguero, only for Ahmed Elmohamady to put the ball into his own net.
Hull responded well and nearly pulled level two minutes later when Grosicki found himself in a pocket of space on the left before sending a ball into the area. It deflected straight to Niasse, but the forward could not find the net from six yards.
After the first 45 minutes of the match, Pep Guardiola’s side went into the half-time interval with a 1-0 lead over the Tigers.
City came out guns blazing in the second half, and doubled their lead in the 48th minute when Raheem Sterling carved the defence apart and somehow squeezed a low cross through to Aguero, who kept his composure and finished through a crowd of bodies to find the back of the net.
Guardiola’s side nearly added a third two minutes later when Sterling ripped through the defence with his low cross, but Jakupovic was forced into producing a fantastic save to deny the forward.
City then added a third in the 64th minute when Sterling made his way down the right flank, before picking out Fabian Delph in the box for the midfielder to rifle a superb finish into the far corner to make it 3-0.
The Tigers looked to have given up their fight and shifted their attention over the final 20 minutes to not concede a fourth.
Hull are hardly managing more than a few consecutive touches on the ball, and struggled to string any passes together in the middle of the park with 12 minutes left to play.
City had a double chance to extend their lead in the 82nd minute when Jesus Navas whipped a cross into the box, which eluded the head of Aguero, but it was kept in play on the left flank before the ball was played in again. The cross come-shot drifted beyond the far corner.
Hull managed to pulled a goal back in the 85th minute when substitute Shaun Malone pulled the ball back for Andreas Ranocchia, who guided his effort towards goal before finding the back of the net to make it 3-1.
However, Manchester City held on to their 3-0 lead until the final whistle to keep their top four hopes alive after securing all three points at the Etihad Stadium.
Meanwhile, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino helped Liverpool secure a 2-1 comeback victory over nemesis Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium when they cancelled out Johnathan Walters’ 44th minute goal.
Middlesbrough and Burnley were forced to settle for a point each after they played out to a goalless draw at the Riverside Stadium.
West Ham United clinched a narrow 1-0 victory over Swansea City, courtesy of a 44th-minute goal by Cheikhou Kouyate, as the Hammers collected all three points at the London Stadium.
West Bromwich Albion suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of an in-form Southampton side, with Jordy Clasie scoring the only goal of the match at the Hawthorns, as the Saints walked away with maximum points.
Image: Premier League website
