Aguero, Toure soothe title pain

Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure gave deposed Premier League champion Manchester City a 2-1 win at home to West Ham United on Saturday, although victory also featured a terrible error from goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Moments after being injured while making a save from West Ham striker Andy Carroll, Hart allowed a shot from the same player to squirm through his grasp, and his legs, as he gifted the visitor an injury-time consolation.

Earlier, Aguero’s 16th goal of the season, his 11th in the Premier League, put the host in control after 28 minutes of a contest that was predictably subdued, coming at the end of a week in which City had finally seen its league title move across the city to Manchester United.

Samir Nasri exchanged neat passes with both Toure and David Silva on his way into the West Ham area, where, having reached the left-hand by-line, he pulled the ball back for Aguero to convert clinically from six yards.

City had to wait until the 83rd minute to be certain of the three points, when Toure collected a short pass from Nasri and sent a stunning 20-yard shot soaring into the roof of the West Ham goal, but victory should have been far more comfortable.

The result: Manchester City 2 (Aguero 28, Yaya Toure 83) bt West Ham 1 (Carroll 90).