Manchester City 1 West Ham 0: Aguero penalty enough for below-par hosts

Manchester City remain one point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool after beating West Ham thanks to Sergio Aguero's penalty.

Sergio Aguero's 59th-minute penalty earned Manchester City their fourth successive Premier League win as they beat West Ham 1-0 to remain one point behind leaders Liverpool.

Having beaten Chelsea on penalties in Sunday's EFL Cup final at Wembley, quadruple-seeking City were not at their usual brilliant best against a West Ham side led by their former manager Manuel Pellegrini.

David Silva hit the post early on but it was substitute Bernardo Silva who came off the bench to win a spot-kick that Aguero converted by sending Lukasz Fabianski the wrong way.

Liverpool's 5-0 victory over Watford at Anfield may have been more emphatic, but City got a result that means they can at least temporarily return to the summit at the weekend as they play before their title rivals.