Tevez double spurs Man City

 
Maradona, a guest of Fulham at Craven Cottage, watched his Argentine compatriot Carlos Tevez score twice as City eased the pressure on manager Roberto Mancini.

In Sunday's earlier game, Blackburn Rovers gave their new Indian owners an immediate return with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Ewood Park.

Tevez struck first for City in the sixth minute and set up Yaya Toure for City's third after just 35 minutes. In between, another Argentine, Pablo Zabaleta, made it two, before Tevez provided the final flourish after halftime.

Chelsea lost 1-0 to Birmingham City on Saturday and United beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 at Old Trafford. Arsenal, in third on 26 points, lost 3-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur.

Blackburn, Premier League champions in 1995, were bought by Indian poultry firm Venky's on Friday in a deal worth 54 million pounds ($86.30 million) and company directors Balaji Rao and Venkatesh Rao were welcomed on to the pitch by Rovers fans before kick-off.

Norwegian midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen scored both goals for the home side, striking in first-half stoppage time when his freekick out by the touchline was misjudged by Villa ’keeper Brad Friedel and the ball sailed into the top corner.

He sealed the points in the 66th minute, reacting sharply after Villa failed to clear a corner.
Frenchman Robert Pires, the former Arsenal and Villarreal player, made his Villa debut as a substitute but could not drag his new team-mates back into the match.