Man City beats Newcastle 4-0 in Premier League

Associated Press Sports

updated 2:01 p.m. ET March 30, 2013

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -Manchester City scored two goals in each half to cruise to a 4-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday and maintain its slim hopes of catching rival Manchester United for the title.

Carlos Tevez and David Silva both netted late in the first half to put City firmly in control and Vincent Kompany marked his return from an eight-game absence by netting the third in the 56th.

James Perch's own goal in the 69th capped the scoring for a dominant City, which strengthened its grip on second place but remained 15 points behind United with eight games to play.

Tevez slid in to turn Gael Clichy's cross at the far post in the 41st minute for his seventh goal in six games and 17th overall this season. Newcastle never had a chance to recover, as Clichy and Edin Dzeko both forced saves from Rob Elliott over the next few minutes before Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri combined to set Silva up for the second.

Kompany then scored his first goal for City in nearly a year, flicking home Gareth Barry's off-target shot to put the result beyond doubt. Kompany missed the previouse eight games with a calf injury, but played for Belgium during the international break.

The fourth came after Toure strode through Newcastle's defense and beat Elliot at his near post with a shot that deflected off Perch.

City will face United in a Manchester derby at Old Trafford next weekend, when it can further delay its rivals title celebrations.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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