• Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool, Premier League

Tevez stars as City thump Liverpool

Gareth Barry grabbed the opener for Manchester City © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Mancini lauds Milner as City lay down marker
  
• Gallery: Manchester City v Liverpool

Manchester City v Liverpool gallery

Carlos Tevez scored twice as Manchester City claimed a 3-0 win over Liverpool at Eastlands.

While one Argentinian, Javier Mascherano, was commanding headlines for his failure to play, his fellow countryman Tevez was hogging the spotlight on the pitch with a captain's display. Tevez scored twice in the second half to add to an early effort from Gareth Barry as City totally dominated the Reds.

James Milner repaid a small piece of his transfer fee by creating Barry's first on his City bow and Liverpool were up against it once Tevez got the faintest of touches to Micah Richards' knockdown.

Joe Hart made a superb double save to deny David N'Gog and Fernando Torres, before Tevez rammed home a penalty after Martin Skrtel had hauled down Adam Johnson.

Sheikh Mansour could hardly have picked a better night to watch the team he has spent £1 billion on in a league game for the first time. Had he so wished, Manchester City's immensely rich owner could have had his pre-match meal at the new 'City Square' on Joe Mercer Way, part of the £20 million stadium revamp that has taken place since he took control from the discredited former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Rather more costly were the players he has helped assemble. Nine of them were part of Roberto Mancini's starting line-up - Richards and Hart the two exceptions - a sign of the revolution that has taken place in the past two years.

Long-standing City fans are still pinching themselves at having the opportunity to watch the likes of Yaya Toure and Tevez. But down the years, they have taken a huge amount of pride in their academy, which has produced so many first-team players, Richards among them.

James Milner impressed on his Manchester City debut © Getty Images

Enlarge

The level City are operating at now means continuing that work is going to be tough. Instead, pleasure has to be derived in different ways.

So to have the stamp ''Made in England'' embossed on their first Premier League goal of the season was an achievement to be noted. That the goal came about because of a momentary failure from Steven Gerrard just brought added poignancy. Johnson spotted Milner advancing just beyond the Liverpool skipper and found him with a smart pass.

Milner delivered the perfect cut-back into an area he hoped a team-mate had filled. Barry obliged and did the business from 10 yards with a neat side-footed finish. It was the high point of a one-sided first-half.

Tevez and Johnson both found the side-netting from an acute angle. Johnson had earlier driven a fierce shot wide and Milner's running was intelligent and incisive. Liverpool could certainly not have complained if they had been further adrift.

Roy Hodgson's men struggled to retain any source of possession, which just confirmed the gaping hole Mascherano will leave should he get his wish to start another phase of his career away from Anfield.

Liverpool appear too deficient in too many areas for Hodgson to waste much time persuading someone intent on leaving that his future remains on Merseyside. In a meagre first-half, the visitors created just a single chance, which the returning Fernando Torres set up for Gerrard, who wasted it. The only time Liverpool got any nearer after half-time was in the flurry of activity that followed Gerrard's explosive free-kick that thudded against the post.

Hart was beaten on that occasion but not when David Ngog had a go. England's new No. 1 palmed that away, straight into Torres' path. It seemed a certain goal but Hart stood firm again, repelling the Spain striker with a magnificent save with his left hand.

That this all came after a second City goal, which Tevez claimed even though any touch to a Richards header from Milner's corner was so faint as to render it impossible to spot.

Reina could not keep it out anyway. Nor did the goalkeeper do any better when Tevez sent him the wrong way from the spot after Johnson had been fouled by Skrtel.

All summer, the football talk around these two clubs has centred around breaking into that top four. On this evidence, only City are capable of that. And, thanks to Sheikh Mansour's largesse, they are capable of much more besides too.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.