Manchester City trimmed Manchester United’s Premier League lead to 12 points after Carlos Tevez pounced to earn the champions a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa last night.

The Argentine produced a cool finish to punish a defensive mistake just before half-time and though not playing at full throttle City were rarely troubled as they claimed a victory that left Villa in the bottom three.

United, who face Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 second leg today, still look unstoppable in pursuit of a 20th English title with 71 points.

With 10 games left to play City have 59 points and Tottenham Hotspur are third on 54.

Villa, needing a point to climb out of the relegation zone above Wigan Athletic, dominated the proceedings early on and looked like reaching half-time unscathed but a moment of madness from defender Ciaran Clark undermined a hard-working first-half display by the hosts.

Attempting a fancy turn rather than a simple thump forward, he was dispossessed by Edin Dzeko and the Bosnian squared for Tevez who danced past Guzan before slotting into the net despite Clark’s attempts to get back on the line.