Sport

Manchester City put four past West Ham as Man United draw with Hull

London: Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 win at West Ham on Wednesday to boost their challenge for a top-four spot in the Premier League.

Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Gabriel Jesus and a Yaya Toure penalty completed the win, putting City level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool.

City manager Pep Guardiola left striker Sergio Aguero and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo on the bench, retaining Gabriel Jesus and Willy Caballero.

De Bruyne put City ahead after 17 minutes and Silva scored from close range four minutes later and Jesus made it 3-0 at half-time.

Toure then finished things off on 67 minutes with the fourth goal from the penalty spot after Jose Fonte tripped Raheem Sterling.

Elsewhere, Manchester United lost ground on the leading teams after being held to a goalless draw by bottom club Hull City.

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Hull had goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic to thank for their point as they continued their revival under new manager Marco Silva and climbed off the bottom, to be replaced by Sunderland.

Jakupovic saved well from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the first half and even more impressively, at close range, from substitute Juan Mata in the second.

Daley Blind, Marcus Rojo, Marcus Rashford and Ibrahimovic all missed the target as United dominated and they very nearly paid heavily four minutes from time when Lazar Markovic hit the post on his Premier League debut for Hull.

Meanwhile, Peter Crouch became the 26th player to score a century of goals in the Premier League as his Stoke City side drew 1-1 with Everton.

The former England striker put the home team ahead after seven minutes, side-footing Marko Arnautovic's cross beyond Joel Robles, two days after his 36th birthday, making him the oldest player to reach the landmark.

He also had several chances to score his 101st, heading straight at Robles and volleying wide before the Everton goalkeeper brilliantly denied Arnautovic.

But Everton drew level on 38 minutes when Ryan Shawcross deflected Seamus Coleman's shot into his own goal. The assistant referee flagged for offside but referee Craig Pawson ruled that the ball had struck the Stoke defender and not Romelu Lukaku on the way.

DPA, Reuters