Premier League round-up:Stephen Ireland displayed just why he is one of the finest young talents in the top flight after he inspired Manchester City to a 5-1 win over Hull at Eastlands that eases the pressure on manager Mark Hughes.
Ireland was at the centre of everything good for City, setting up three of his side's first four goals, before getting his name on the scoresheet to cap a fine afternoon.
Record signing Robinho and striker Felipe Caicedo both struck twice as Hughes' men tore into stunned Hull with four first-half goals.
Hull salvaged some pride with a Craig Fagan consolation goal after embarrassed manager Phil Brown delivered his half-time talk on the pitch.
But the visitors remained distinctly second best and Ireland grabbed a fifth to lift his side out of the relegation zone.
Tim Cahill pounced at the third time of asking to send Everton on their way to a 1-0 victory at the Riverside, their seventh away win of the season.
Cahill needed three attempts to force home the scrappiest of winners in the 50th minute but it was a well-deserved victory for David Moyes' men against a Boro side facing a bleak new year.
The home side have now not won at the Riverside for almost two months and the displeasure was clear with a chorus of boos accompanying manager Gareth Southgate up the tunnel at the final whistle.
Craig Bellamy underlined his importance to West Ham by scoring twice in the Hammers' 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
Nadir Belhadj gave Portsmouth an early lead but the Hammers levelled soon after through Jack Collison.
West Ham made former Hammer Jermaine Defoe pay for missing a stoppage-time penalty kick by taking hold of the game in the second half.
Carlton Cole turned home a Valon Behrami cross to put West Ham ahead before Spurs transfer target Bellamy raced through the Pompey defence and beat David James with 20 minutes left.
Bellamy picked up a return pass from Luis Boa Morte to seal the Hammers' fourth with seven minutes left.
Neither side could break the deadlock at White Hart Lane where Tottenham entertained Fulham.
Luka Modric had Spurs' best chance of the game in the first half when he cut inside from the left flank and fired a 25-yard shot at goal but Mark Schwarzer was equal to the Croatian's effort.
Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes has had his critics this season but he had to be at his best to prevent Andy Johnson from scoring after he was put clear towards the end of the second half.
Blackburn striker Jason Roberts passed up a glorious opportunity to hand Sam Allardyce a second successive victory with a glaring last-gasp miss at Sunderland.
Roberts stabbed the ball wide of the post with goalkeeper Marton Fulop for once beaten two minutes into stoppage-time as two precious points squirmed from Rovers' grasp.
Fulop had earlier tipped a 54th-minute Morten Gamst Pedersen free-kick against the post, and then blocked Keith Andrews' effort after the midfielder burst through on the hour.
Full-back Phil Bardsley came closest to scoring for the Black Cats with a curling 28th-minute shot as in-from strikers Djibril Cisse and Kenwyne Jones were strangely out of sorts.
Joe Kinnear's Newcastle United side went down 2-1 at the JJB as Wigan's Ryan Taylor yet again found the net against the Mapgpies.
The midfielder, whose career has been plagued by injury problems, has scored only six goals in his career for Wigan but four of them have been against Newcastle.
The latest demonstrated just why this month Taylor was voted the best free-kick taker in the club's history.
His 25-yard right-foot shot which fairly flew past goalkeeper Shay Given was the highlight of a wonderfully entertaining and spiky encounter between two clubs locked in mid-table anonymity.
Amr Zaki also scored from the penalty spot after Emile Heskey had been brought down by Sebastien Bassong, who was immediately shown the red card.
Danny Guthrie scored from the spot for Newcastle with two minutes remaining after Chris Kirkland had brought down Andrew Carroll.
