Gianfranco Zola backed Manchester City to finish in the top four of the Barclays Premier League after watching his West Ham United team slip deeper into trouble last night.

Carlos Tévez scored twice against his former club as City coasted to an impressive 3-1 win that moved Mark Hughes’s team up to fifth and underlined the threat they are likely to pose to the established elite this season.

The Argentina striker refused to celebrate either of his goals, clasping his hands and nodding apologetically in front of the West Ham fans at the City of Manchester Stadium after plundering his first inside five minutes.

It was a show of respect that drew applause from the visiting supporters and praise from Zola, although the Italian’s admiration for Tévez and City did not extend to his own team. West Ham have taken four points from a possible 24 and Zola could not conceal his anger.

“You can’t come to places like this and just give presents to the opposition,” he said. “They are too good and will just take advantage.

“I was really impressed with City, they were really good. Some of the football they played was outstanding. If they play to this standard for the rest of the season, they will be up there in the top four at the end.”

Carlton Cole, the England forward, drew West Ham level in the 24th minute, but they were comfortably outplayed and could have lost by a heavier scoreline. Martin Petrov, impressing on his first start of the season, put City back in front with a 32nd-minute free kick before Tévez, who might have scored four or five, added a third shortly after the hour.

Hughes praised the movement of his strike pair, with Craig Bellamy also tormenting his former club. “All night Carlos and Craig were a real handful for the opposition,” he said. “They couldn’t handle them.”

Despite receiving a hostile reception from Manchester United supporters during the 4-3 derby defeat at Old Trafford eight days earlier, there was never any danger of Tévez being booed by the West Ham fans after the role he played in keeping the club in the Premier League at the end of the 2006-07 season. “Great players like he is are also gentlemen and he showed that,” Zola said.

“He has my appreciation not only for his celebration but the way he played all game.”

It was a night when the positives abounded for City. Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguay striker signed from Blackburn Rovers for £18 million in July, made his debut after three months on the sidelines with a knee problem, while Michael Johnson, the midfield player, enjoyed his first appearance for more than a year. Hughes confirmed, though, that Robinho, the City and Brazil forward, will be out for another three weeks because of an ankle injury.

The result completed a miserable day for West Ham, who have been charged on four counts by the FA in relation to their Carling Cup second-round tie against Millwall at Upton Park last month.