Three second-half goals ensured that Manchester City climbed back to second in the Premier League after a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium yesterday.
City struggled to get going in the first half, with Villa having several chances to break the deadlock in pouring Manchester rain.
However, City wasted no time after regrouping at the interval, as Raheem Sterling latched onto a Gabriel Jesus flick before firing City in front just 20 seconds into the second half.
Photo: AP
Kevin de Bruyne found the net in the 65th minute after his cross eluded everyone and arrowed into the bottom corner and soon afterward Ilkay Gundogan made sure of another three points with a scissor kick finish.
On Friday, Leicester City scored five first-half goals and another four after the break to destroy 10-man Southampton 9-0, equaling the biggest win in Premier League history.
Manchester United beat Ipswich by the same score in 1995, three years after the English top tier was rebranded.
Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy scored hat-tricks at a wet St Mary’s Stadium.
“We actually found out at 6-0 when Jonny Evans came sprinting over and said if we carry on doing what we’re doing we can get the record,” Vardy told Sky Sports. “We’ve gone all the way to the end and managed to do it.”
Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand became the first Premier League player to receive a red card after a video review for an incident just before Leicester’s first goal in the 10th minute.
Ben Chilwell scored the opener for the Foxes when he side-footed home after Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn could only parry Harvey Barnes’ initial effort.
Southampton quickly received another blow when Bertrand was ejected on review for stretching over the top of the ball with his studs, making contact with Perez’s shin before the goal.
It got worse for the hosts when Leicester broke down the left to make it 2-0 in the 17th minute after Youri Tielemans fired in a low effort from the center of the box following good work by Barnes down the left wing.
Tielemans set up Perez who made it 3-0 inside 20 minutes with his first goal for the club.
Chilwell’s cross picked out Perez, whose impressive strike put the visitors 4-0 ahead in the 39th, and Vardy had time to add a fifth before the break with Southampton jeered off the field.
Perez got his hat-trick in the 57th minute and Vardy triggered an exodus of Saints fans with his second goal a minute later for 7-0, rising to head in Chilwell’s cross.
With the rain continuing to pour and St Mary’s rapidly emptying, Maddison added his name to the scoresheet in the 85th before Vardy scored from the penalty spot at the end.
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