Martin Petrov was on fire for Manchester City on September 28, as he produced a brilliant assist for Carlos Tevez' first goal, then came up with a scintillating free kick to score the second and could have had another goal before the interval.

The Citizens comfortably outclassed a struggling West Ham, recovering from the heartbreak of the late goal in the Mancunian derby a week earlier and rising up the table to fifth, three points of league leaders Manchester United.

Playing against a former club for the second straight week, Tevez put City in front with the simplest of tap-ins, turning in Petrov's pin-point pass from six yards out with only five minutes on the clock. It didn't take long for the visitors to regain some possession in the middle of the park and Carlton Cole levelled for West Ham on one of his first forays forward.

But with the disparity in class painfully apparent - the match pitted the team which topped the summer spending charts against a side that hardly did anything on the transfer market - it was to be expected that the Londoners would struggle significantly on the night.

Petrov put City ahead for good with one of his trademark free kicks, this one taken from 25 metres on the right of the box. West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green could have done better for the goal, but he made some amends with three minutes left in the half, parrying Petrov's thunderous volley.

In the second half, Tevez's header from Craig Bellamy's free kick wrapped up the final score for City, thus securing the team's best league start since the 1961/62 season. The man of the match refused to celebrate either of his goals. Instead he apologised to West Ham supporters in a show of respect towards the fans who once chanted his name at Upton Park.

"Carlos was great - his movement and inter-change with Craig Bellamy, Martin Petrov and the midfield guys. And as the season progresses, that will get better," Mark Hughes said on the club's website.

Hughes said last week that Petrov would play a big part in City's season, but with Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy in good form and Emmanuel Adebayor coming back from his suspension, the Bulgarian's opportunities in the first team will likely be few and far between once Robinho recovers from his injury in three weeks' time.