City maintain pressure on Chelsea with Hull win

HULL: Manchester City kept in touch with leader Chelsea in the English Premier League race with a battling 2-0 victory at Hull on Saturday, while Fulham and West Bromwich Albion grabbed vital wins in the scrap to avoid relegation.

City played 80 minutes with 10 men after captain Vincent Kompany´s sending-off but was rarely troubled as goals by David Silva and Edin Dzeko trimmed the gap to six points to Chelsea.

Doubts were suddenly swirling around Man City´s title bid after a slump in form that saw the team lose to second-tier Wigan in the FA Cup quarterfinals, eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona, and slip nine points off the pace in the Premier League.

A win in adversity at Hull will silence the doubters — especially considering Kompany´s 10th-minute red card for pulling back Nikica Jelavic when last man — and lifted City provisionally into second place above Liverpool and Arsenal.

Silva curled home the opening goal from outside the area in the 14th minute and the Spain playmaker set up Dzeko for the clinching second in the 90th. (AP)