London  - Carlos Tevez scored twice against his former side as Manchester City beat West Ham United 3-1 on Monday.

City's fifth victory of the season lifts them within three points of joint leaders Manchester United and Chelsea with a game in hand.

Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov had a night to remember, scoring one and setting up another in his first appearance of the season.

City dominated the early stages and took the lead after five minutes, as Petrov crossed for Tevez to tap in.

The Argentinian, as a former West Ham player, made a point of not celebrating his first league goal for his new club.

City continued to have much the better of the game, but West Ham levelled after 24 minutes with their first attack.

Radoslav Kovac mishit his shot, but Carlton Cole reacted sharply to flick it over the line.

They were level for just eight minutes before Petrov bent home a free-kick.

City continued to control the game, while never looking entirely comfortable at the back, and went up 3-1 just after the hour as Tevez headed in a Craig Bellamy free-kick. dpa