The Independent
Tevez the star as City send derby warning
Carlos Tevez was blithely unaware his departure from Old Trafford in the summer would lead to such extensive inquests into why he was allowed to leave and how much of a contributing factor it would be in the decline of Manchester United. He can effectively finish Sir Alex Ferguson's Premier League title aspirations in the derby at Eastlands next weekend, and the noisy neighbours are in boisterous mood.
The Guardian
Emmanuel Adebayor keeps Manchester City's Champions League dream alive
Manchester City succeeded superbly in achieving the only outcome that was available to them today. The team simply had to win before a clutch of matches that appear likely to determine their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and did that with aplomb. Birmingham City have been resilient this season but could not cope with the avalanche of ingenuity that kept coming their way..
The Telegraph
Manchester City 5 Birmingham City 1
Not quite hours of boredom and moments of sheer terror but Manchester City are certainly building a head of steam in their pursuit of fourth place with brief flurries of goals.
After the frustration of their 2-0 defeat to Everton last month, they have picked up nine points from three matches, with Carlos Tevez scoring a hat-trick in 12 minutes to beat Wigan 3-0, City scoring three times in three minutes on the way to a 6-1 victory at Burnley and now three goals in five minutes, with the visitors also scoring, to defeat Birmingham City.
The Times
Carlos Tévez and Manchester City fire a timely warning to the locals
A red letter day in the blue half of Manchester and, before next weekend’s little local skirmish, a few more things for Sir Alex Ferguson to growl and gurn over, including the relentless form of a certain centre forward.
Carlos Tévez, the man deemed too expensive for Manchester United, increasingly looks a very costly mistake. Typical Argentinians.