Manchester City 3 Stoke City 0: Tevez fuels City’s drive for Champions League

CARLOS Tevez drew level with Dimitar Berbatov in the battle for the Golden Boot as his magnificent brace left Manchester City on the brink of direct qualification for the Champions League.

The Blues captain lashed his side in front after beating two men inside the Stoke box, then curled home a superb free-kick to take his tally to 20, exactly the same as Berbatov, with one game of the season remaining.

More importantly for manager Roberto Mancini, it leaves his team knowing a victory at Bolton on Sunday will secure a straight passage through to the group stages of Europe’s elite club competition, avoiding a hazardous qualification round in August when Bayern Munich and Villarreal had already been lined up as potential opponents.

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Joleon Lescott also found the net with a simple header to complete a perfect week for City but rub salt into the Stoke wounds still gaping after that FA Cup final defeat at Wembley on Saturday, which ended the Blues’ 35-year wait for a trophy.

Given the uncertainty over his future, this could yet turn out to be 26-year-old Tevez’s final game at Eastlands.

If so, he marked the occasion in style.

Collecting James Milner’s return pass just inside the Stoke box, he nimbly stepped past Ryan Shawcross and Andy Wilkinson before cutting a shot into the far corner.

Early in the second half, City gained a fortunate free-kick for a Danny Collins foul on Micah Richards. Lescott evaded all attention, got in front of Thomas Sorensen as he jumped for Adam Johnson’s free-kick and headed home.

The game was wrapped up when, after Whelan brought down Nigel de Jong, Tevez let fly with a quite magnificent curling free-kick that gave Sorensen no chance as it flew right into the top corner.