Manchester City remained in the hunt for a European place as they secured vital three points against Portsmouth on Sunday.

Darius Vassell and Martin Petrov put City 2-0 up by the 13th minute but Portsmouth were back in the game by reducing the deficit through Utaka in the 24th minute. Portsmouth were reduced to 10 men four minutes before half time and Benjani scored against his former club to secure all three points for his side.

City went into the match with newspaper reports speculating over their manager Sven Goran Eriksson's future but the focus was back on football by the 11th minute when Vassell latched on to a mix up between David James and Sol Campbell to justify his selection ahead of Sun Jihai by putting his side in the lead.

City doubled the lead two minutes later when Petrov's shot took a huge deflection off Campbell's leg before going past a helpless James. The visitors settled down to slowly take control of the match and got one back in the 24th minute as Utaka's looping header flew over Hart and into the net.

Portsmouth's hopes of staging a come back in the second half were dealt with a severe blow when Hreidarsson was shown a straight red for fouling Vassell. However the visitors had great chances to equalize in the second half but Sulley Muntari and Utaka only managed to hit the post.

City put the result beyond doubt in the 74th minute when Benjani scored a well taken goal against his former club, though the striker refused to celebrate the goal against his former club. The win takes City to just three points away from the sixth and final UEFA Cup spot.