Manchester City boosted their Champions League hopes by beating bottom of the table West Ham in a fluctuating match.

The hosts were rampant early on and scored through an unlikely source when Nigel De Jong got his first City goal.

Pablo Zabaleta compounded West Ham's misery with a second on 15 minutes after a fine exchange with David Silva.

But Demba Ba fired in after the half hour to change the mood of the match and although Mario Balotelli hit the bar in the second half, City held on.

It could have been far more comfortable for Roberto Mancini's side as Silva squandered a fine one-on-one opportunity too.

And it will puzzle their fans that they were so fluent in the first half hour only to become more ragged as the game wore on.

With the points in the bag they will not worry too much as the victory cements their status in the fourth Champions League spot, seven points clear of nearest rivals Liverpool and Tottenham with just four Premier League games remaining.

For West Ham the defeat represents their fifth on the bounce and although there were signs around the turn of the half that they could overcome Mancini's men, they remain at the foot of the table.

From the start City were quick to get the ball to their right where Adam Johnson could run at stand-in left-back Danny Gabbidon, who replaced the ineligible Wayne Bridge.

Johnson twice combined with the roaming Silva and it was from the Spaniard's blocked shot that City carved out their first chance, with Balotelli heading wide from a corner.

City's dominance was such that it was no surprise when they took the lead on 10 minutes via another corner.

Aleksandar Kolarov swung the ball in from the left and Thomas Hitzlsperger's half-clearance was gobbled up by De Jong, who defied his goal drought since joining the club in January 2009 to shoot calmly past Robert Green.

Gabbidon was being offered little cover in front of him by Luis Boa Morte, and Mancini's side again exploited this weakness to double their advantage.

Zabaleta poured forward from full-back, exchanged a delightful one-two with Silva and fired towards goal where Lars Jacobsen could only divert the ball into the roof of the net.

It was a nightmare start for the Hammers and boss Avram Grant looked exasperated on the touchline as the next 10 minutes almost descended into tedium.

But without any counter-attack of note up until that point, City were guilty of switching off when Robbie Keane was put through in acres of space and was denied by Joe Hart.

The hosts did not heed that warning and West Ham changed the whole mood of the game soon after when they got a goal back through Ba on 33 minutes.

Hitzlsperger picked up a half-cleared corner and delivered the ball into the danger area where, despite a penalty claim when the ball hit Joleon Lescott's arm, Ba pounced, latching on to the loose ball to fire into the corner.

That inspired the Hammers, who were now without Matthew Upson after he picked up a knock, and Grant's side managed to shore up their left side by placing Ba wider to curtail the runs of right-back Zabaleta.

Though they enjoyed a good spell after the break it was City who came closest to scoring when Balotelli hit the bar after good work again by Silva.

And the visitors were fortunate that Silva did not opt to shoot when clean through, the Spaniard choosing to square to Balotelli, whose shot was cleared off the line.

Between those two chances, though, Manuel Da Costa had a header from a corner well saved and, with City becoming more ragged, there were several half-chances where West Ham failed to capitalise.

Sensing they needed to score again to calm their nerves, City began to reaffirm their grip on the game thanks to some wonderful Yaya Toure passing.

And they should have made it easier for themselves when Silva, and substitutes James Milner and Edin Dzeko had chances to give them breathing space.

But that would have been too easy for their supporters, who had to watch the denouement of the contest nervously, with Carlton Cole going closest when his late goalbound shot was blocked.

Date of match:
Sunday, 1 May 2011

Results:
{H} Manchester City (2): De Jong 10, Zabaleta 15
{A} West Ham (1): Ba 33