Manchester City took over second place in the Premier League with an emphatic 6-1 beating of Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday.
Sergio Aguero wrote a new Premier League record with his 12th hat trick, breaking Alan Shearer’s two-decade old record. He also became the all-time leader in goals for a foreign-born player. Aguero added an assist, because why not?
Riyad Mahrez scored a brace, Kevin De Bruyne supplied a pair of assists, and Gabriel Jesus also scored as the two-time reigning league champs opened up a four-goal halftime lead.
[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]
Ilkay Gundogan gave away a needless penalty to Trezeguet in stoppage time. Anwar El Ghazi blasted his effort home for the consolation.
City’s 47 points are 14 back of leaders Liverpool, who have a match-in-hand.
Villa is in the Bottom Three with 21 points, its minus-15 goal differential second worst in the league.
Three things we learned
1. City piling up numbers as sensational Aguero sets standard: Sergio Aguero’s two goals gave him a new Premier League record. His 175 goals are the most scored by a non-English player in league history, and it’s fitting that it came off a David Silva assist. That helped is Silva’s 137th for the club.
Then he upped the ante, scoring his 12th Premier League hat trick. No one’s done that.
Sergio Aguero, now the highest scoring non-Englishman in Premier League History 💫🥇 pic.twitter.com/5bh72cslrO
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 12, 2020
2. History-chasing De Bruyne puts on show: Kevin De Bruyne’s .636 assists per league match this season have him well on his way to breaking Thierry Henry’s PL single season assist record. KDB has 14, meaning at current pace he’ll tie or break the record even if he misses four matches.
This pass to meet Gabriel Jesus’ run was just stupid.
3. Nightmare debut for Drinkwater: Danny Drinkwater has a new claret shirt after his loan to Burnley changed to a loan to Aston Villa, but the Chelsea man is still in relegation form. Drinkwater was worked by Mahrez for City’s first goal and then played with lower league speed in failing to clear danger on the second. Honestly, the embattled midfielder could’ve been at fault for a third before the match was 25 minutes old.
20+ - Riyad Mahrez has 21 goals and 22 assists in all club competitions since the start of last season - he is the only Premier League player have scored both scored and assisted over 20 goals over this period. Visionary. pic.twitter.com/1IMmQBUoHD
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 12, 2020
Man of the Match: A-guer-o.
City was ready to pounce on any mistakes from Moment No. 1, and Mahrez didn’t need much room to make it 1-0.
The Algerian danced past Danny Drinkwater and then used Kortney Hause as a screen to fire a low shot inside the near post.
Mahrez got his second after some real industry from Aguero on the left. The Argentine pushed a ball off the end line and back into the mixer. Both David Silva and Gabriel Jesus got a piece of the ball en route to Mahrez’s finish.
[ MORE: Premier League stats ]
Jesus turned a terrific Mendy pass to rip a shot over the bar in the 26th.
Aguero made it 3-0 when Villa’s back line gave him acres of space to rip a shot that Nyland could only slow on its journey to the back of the net.
Aguero and David Silva each could’ve made it four before the 37 minute mark, the latter curling his free kick around the near post.
Jesus hit the scoreboard off a fantastic and acute pass from De Bruyne, the latest example of the latter’s pure wizardry.
Aguero collected a giveaway and clinically finished past Nyland for 6-0 in the 82nd. It was his 16th hat trick for City.
Kevin De Bruyne is ridiculous 🤭 pic.twitter.com/o420xQtAXr
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 12, 2020