MANCHESTER City moved to within three points of the league leaders as two goals from former West Ham hero Carlos Tevez helped overcome the Hammers.
Tevez side-footed home Martin Petrov’s cross from six yards out but Carlton Cole’s neat backheel levelled the game.
Petrov, making his first league start of the season, curled a low, 25-yard free-kick into the corner of the net.
Tevez’s header from Craig Bellamy’s free-kick sealed victory and secured City’s best league start since 1961.
The win moved City up to fifth in the Premier League, level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham and third-placed Liverpool and three points behind joint leaders Manchester United and Chelsea.
West Ham remain without a win in five matches and languishing in the bottom three.
City started brightly and could have been three goals up inside 15 minutes.
As it was they had to settle for the one and it came after only five minutes through Tevez.
Bulgarian winger Petrov found space out wide, following Gareth Barry’s flick-on, and squared it to the unmarked Argentine, who from six yards out side-footed into the roof of the net for his first league goal of the season.
It was the worst possible start for the Hammers and a few moments later they were lucky it was not worse after Tevez’s neat swivel and shot flew inches wide of the post.
The striker was wreaking havoc in the Hammers defence and soon after blazed over the bar after Wayne Bridge’s cross had deflected into his path.
The visitors struggled to get into the game with Mark Noble’s deflected 30-yard shot, which was comfortably saved by Shay Given, their only attempt inside the opening 20 minutes.
But after Petrov’s half-volley was well held by Green, the Hammers shocked Eastlands with a goal against the run of play.
City failed to clear Alessandro Diamanti’s floated free-kick and Kovac’s shot was back-heeled into the net by striker Cole.
The goal unsurprisingly invigorated the Hammers and soon after Cole’s header from Julien Faubert’s cross was neatly kept out by Given.
But just as the Hammers seemed as if they were getting a grip on the game, City got themselves back in front with Petrov’s left-footed free-kick curling around the wall and into the corner of the net for 2-1.
Soon after Tevez found himself one on one with Green, but the Hammers stopper did well to narrow the angle and block the shot and from the resulting corner an unmarked Joleon Lescott headed wide as West Ham’s defence again went to sleep.
A moment of controversy then followed with the visitors denied a goal.
Scott Parker scored it, tapping the ball in the net from 12-yards, but Cole was harshly penalised for an earlier foul on Lescott.
As the half reached its climax City enjoyed even more success on the wings and Green was twice called into action to keep out Bellamy’s close-range header and Petrov’s brilliant volley from the angle of the box.
It took until the hour for the next goal of the game and it came from Tevez with West Ham again guilty of shoddy defending.
The former West Ham striker found himself unmarked at the back post and simply headed Bellamy’s free-kick across goal and into the net.
Bellamy then blazed over with a wild volley as West Ham’s resilience at the back began to crumble.
However, going forward they plugged away and Given was twice called into action with Diamanti testing the Irishman.
James Tomkins then failed to hit the target from Diamanti’s inswinging corner as time began to run out for Gianfranco Zola’s side.
Barry tested Green with a dipping volley which the England keeper acrobatically tipped over the bar.
With 10 minutes remaining City introduced Roque Santa Cruz to make his debut following his arrival from Blackburn for around £18m in June.
And with minutes remaining Santa Cruz almost made the dream start to his Eastlands career but steered Petrov’s cross the wrong side of the post.
Petrov went close himself with a late chance but fired just wide but it mattered little as City sealed a comfortable victory, their fifth win out of six league games this season. (BBC Sport)
