Manchester City 4-1 Aston Villa: Phil Foden nets hat-trick as Champions maintain title push
Phil Foden scored a stunning hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Aston Villa 4-1 on Wednesday, keeping their hopes of retaining the Premier League title alive.
Arsenal surpassed Liverpool to take top spot on 68 points after a 2-0 win over Luton Town, while City are third on 67 points, level with Liverpool, who can return to the summit with a home win over Sheffield United on Thursday.
"Obviously, I'm just loving my football at the moment," Foden told TNT Sports. "I'm just playing with a smile on my face and trying to help the team because I know I'm capable of scoring goals. And I think today I showed that. So I'm delighted."
This was City's first victory over a top-five team in the league this season.
"Something we've been struggling with this season to face the teams at the top - beating Aston Villa 4-1 is not easy but we did it," Rodri told TNT Sports.
"We're there, we knew we had to do our homework. We did it and now we focus on the next game."
City dominated possession from the start and took the lead in the 11th minute when Rodri converted Jeremy Doku's cross.
However, Villa silenced the home crowd in the 20th minute when 20-year-old Jhon Duran scored from a one-two with Morgan Rogers.
With City's league-leading scorer Erling Haaland on the bench, Foden went to work, finding a gap in Villa's wall with a superb free kick just before halftime.
Rodri dribbled through Villa's defence before setting up Foden for his second goal in the 62nd minute, and the 23-year-old finished his hat-trick with a rocket into the top corner from 25 yards.
"This player has grown every single year I've been here," Rodri said. "He can score wherever. I'm so happy for him."
It was Foden's 21st goal for City in all competitions this season, and the England international was substituted to a standing ovation.
Unai Emery's team remained fourth in the table with 59 points, still in contention for a Champions League spot, despite playing one more game than fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have 57.
Villa defeated City 1-0 at Villa Park in December, but they have not won at the Etihad since 2007, and the score could have been even more lopsided given City's 67.4% possession and 11 shots on goal to the visitors' 3.
"We competed well until the first goal," Emery said. "They showed their power. They deserved to win. Manchester City now they are better than us and they showed it."
Haaland and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne did not play for City on Wednesday, ahead of league away games against Crystal Palace and Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
SportsLigue