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Tevez red-hot for Citizens

Author: John Harris
Date: 14/01/2010
Football betting

Manchester City's 4-1 home win over Blackburn Rovers pushed the Citizens up to fourth place in the Premier League table, while Carlos Tevez continued his superb recent form with a hat-trick.

The 25-year-old Argentina frontman has scored 15 times since his summer switch from city rivals Manchester United, with 11 of those goals coming in his last nine appearances.

Tevez had previously netted just four times in 15 games, with his only Premier League goals a double in a 3-1 victory over one of his former clubs, West Ham United.

The diminutive South American also won the Premier League Player of the Month award for December, due to his eight goals in seven games in all competitions last month.

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His tally is all the more impressive given his overall record in English football, following his arrival at West Ham in the summer of 2006.

His first and only season with the Hammers seemed like being a disaster, as he failed to find the net in his first 19 appearances for the Irons, who looked like nose-diving to relegation.

However, Tevez sparkled into life just when West Ham needed him, scoring seven times in his last ten outings of the season, including a double in a 3-1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the penultimate game of the campaign.

His most important contribution came on the final day of the season, as Tevez netted the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at Manchester United which ultimately saved the Hammers from the drop.

That was to be the forward's last outing in a claret and blue shirt, as Tevez headed to Old Trafford to join the Red Devils and his first campaign with Sir Alex Ferguson's men seemed to go perfectly.

Tevez netted 19 times in all competitions, helping sportsbook favourites United to retain their Premier League crown and secure the Champions League title with a penalty shootout win over Chelsea in Moscow.

However, the following season, the second of a two-year loan, saw things turns lightly sour, despite Tevez scoring 15 times in all competitions.

Only five of those strikes came in the Premier League, as Tevez had to often make do with a back-up role in Sir Alex Ferguson's squad.

The presence of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov limited Tevez's starting opportunities and by the end of the campaign a parting of the ways was inevitable.

However, Tevez was not to move very far to get his career back on track and his form at City will have Ferguson wondering whether he made an error in not pursuing a permanent deal a matter of months ago.

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