There were to be no late Christmas presents for the home faithful as Hull City fans were left blasting further lapses in concentration.
Individual errors have been a consistent reason behind their lowly position in their Premier League and with the Tigers matching Manchester City, it was to be another poor mistake that cost them at least a point on Boxing Day.
The hosts grow into the game
As expected, the visitors took control of possession and territory in the opening stages, seeing 82% of the ball in the first ten minutes. Despite being in the ascendency, City could only muster a couple of efforts of note when Yaya Toure forced David Marshall to palm the ball over the crossbar from his free-kick. Whilst that set-piece came about after Michael Dawson showed impatience trying to get the ball before Kevin De Bruyne, the defender later offered David Silva too much time and space as the Spaniard drove forward. The attacking midfielder found a gap to shoot but his low effort was easily held by Marshall.
Yet the longer Hull frustrated their opponents, the more they grew in confidence. Jake Livermore flicked a header over from an Ahmed Elmohamady cross whilst falling backwards, before the central midfielder hit a stinging shot at Claudio Bravo when afforded space by Fernandinho. Nolito offered a couple of efforts at the other end, with one straight into the hands of Marshall and the other flying over, as City struggled to build any tempo or fizz into their game.
The visitors pounce on Robertson mistake
The game began to open up straight after the restart as both sides had opportunities to open the scoring. Harry Maguire hooked a difficult volley over from a clipped Curtis Davies free-kick, before De Bruyne cracked a snapshot effort off the foot of the post from the corner of the penalty area. It was becoming clear that the first goal would be crucial as Dawson saw a looped header cleared by Bacary Sagna on the line with his goalkeeper stranded and De Bruyne fired another effort wide as he took the ball in his stride.
With 72 minutes on the clock, Hull manager Mike Phelan would have been delighted with the score and performance of his side. Yet the individual errors that have plagued them this season returned again as left-back Andrew Robertson hacked down Raheem Sterling in the penalty area. Toure stepped up to slot the ball home and send the visitors on their way. Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho slotted a second from Silva's cross, before Davies was unluck to slice the ball into his own net from Sterling's driven ball.
3-0 may have been harsh on Hull at the end of the day but their fans will be wondering when the Tigers' fortunes will change and if they can avoid the dreaded relegation at the end of the season. For City, the hunting of Chelsea continues.