BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa – At a World Cuplacking offense, Paraguay showed some punch.

Enrique Vera and Cristian Riveros each scored Sunday as Paraguay took a big step toward the round of 16 with a 2-0 win over Slovakia.

The win puts Paraguay atop Group F four points after two matches. Slovakia has one point. Defending champion Italy and New Zealand also are in the group, and play later Sunday — they each began the day with one point.

"We played a good match and we are getting closer to the round of 16," Vera said. "Our intention now is to be first in the group."

Playing with a three-man front line spearheaded by Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguay controlled the tempo from the star.

Vera broke through for La Albirroja in the 27th when forward Lucas Barrios slipped a pass into the box and Vera angled it past Slovakia goalkeeper Jan Mucha with a one-time shot.

Riveros added a goal in the 86th minute, a left-footed blast from the edge of the penalty area.

"We did very well in the first half and we got a goal, but that didn't mean we could relax in the second (half), and I don't believe we did," Vera said.

Playing in its first major tournament since the former Czechoslovakia divided in 1993, Slovakia looked outclassed and unsure of itself facing a big, physical Paraguayan team that beat both Argentina and Brazil.

"We made two mistakes and conceded two goals," Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss said. "There was always a punishment for our mistakes. Our opponent was a really high quality opponent and their victory was deserved."

After Paraguay tied Italy 1-1 in its World Cup opener, national coach Gerardo Martino opted to switch from a 4-4-2 formation to an attacking 4-3-3 against Slovakia, with Santa Cruz, Nelson Valdez and Lucas Barrios up front.

The trio of powerful strikers proved a handful for the Slovakia defense, outjumping, outmuscling and outrunning the Slovaks.

Forced to focus on defending, Slovakia never mounted a serious challenge to Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar. Slovakia's first and only shot on goal came with Robert Vittek's drive in injury time.

"We played better today because we made some corrections from the first game, and we got the early area, which we were looking to get," Martino said.

"We barely gave Slovakia any chances to score early in the match, and that made a difference. And yes, it is a good thing we have gotten a lead against both of our opponents so far."

Santa Cruz, who plays for Mancherter City, was a welcome addition to Paraguay's starting lineup. The striker has been hampered by a leg injury, and only came on as a second-half substitute against Italy.

He made his presence felt almost immediately Sunday, collecting a ball at the top of the box in the 3rd minute and hitting that forced a diving save from Mucha.

He also came close to scoring in the 39th, when he broke free for a low right-footed drive that Mucha kicked wide — and Vera headed his cross just wide of the left post in the 72nd.

"This is a result that will put us in a good position, but the result of the next game will decide," Martino said. "This is a very significant win for us, of course, but the math shows that we are not through yet."

BURNLEY, England (AFP) – Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice as Manchester City climbed into fourth place in the Premier League with a crushing 6-1 win over struggling Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.

With Tottenham's 3-1 loss to Sunderland earlier in the day, City knew a win would put them in pole position in the race for fourth place and the final Champions League spot.

Roberto Mancini's side rose to the challenge with a stylish display and they now have 59 points - one more than fifth-placed Tottenham.

City were 3-0 up after seven minutes and 5-0 ahead by half-time in the teeming Lancashire rain.

Adebayor's double and one each from Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez and Patrick Vieira put the result beyond doubt by the interval.

Vincent Kompany made it 6-0 before Burnley finally showed some attacking nous when Steven Fletcher curled a shot over Shay Given into the far corner in the 72nd minute.

This was a matchup between one of the wealthiest clubs in the world against the club with the smallest budget in the Premier League - City substitute Roque Santa Cruz's 17 million pound price tag last year was more than Burnley?s playing budget for the whole of this season.

Adebayor emphasised the difference between the clubs as he started the goal rush in the fourth minute, controlling a corner from Adam Johnson and volleying past Brian Jensen.

Bellamy was completely unmarked when he doubled the score in the fifth minute, collecting a cross from Tevez to score.

Tevez then tapped in a rebound from Adebayor to score City's third, taking advantage of hesitant goalkeeping from Jensen.

That resulted in Burnley manager Brian Laws losing his cool on the touchline, the crowd jeering their team and several fans heading for the exits.

The Clarets have yet to win a Premier League game this season after conceding the first goal and City were far from finished.

Vieira scored his first goal for City since moving from Inter Milan in January and his first in the Premier League in five years, rising to head home a Johnson cross in the 20th minute.

Adebayor made it 5-0 in 44th, taking a pass from Tevez to comfortably sprint clear and slot past Jensen.

It was a far cry from November, when Burnley earned their only away point of the season in a 3-3 draw at Manchester City.

But since then Burnley have struggled with their last win coming against West Ham in February, a run of nine matches.

Their best chance came from David Nugent, who forced Given to save but the ball then went straight to the other end and Vieira had a shot of his own stopped by Jensen.

Tevez then failed to connect with a Bellamy cross after fine work from Johnson and the Argentine also hit a post.

Puddles appeared on the pitch in the second half as a result of the relentless rain. It affected the playing conditions but did not stop City from scoring again.

Kompany was next on the scoresheet in the 58th minute, heading in unopposed from a Johnson corner.

Burnley managed to pull a goal back in the 72nd minute when Fletcher scored after being played on by Jack Cork.

But Burnley seemed to have given up before the game had even started. Still in the bottom three, this performance does not bode well for their survival hopes.