Sergio Aguero scored his 11th premier league hat-trick as Manchester City stormed back to the top of the table with an impressive 6-0 victory over Chelsea at Etihad Stadium.
City scored four times inside the opening 25 minutes and continued to attack a besieged Chelsea throughout as Maurizio Sarri’s humiliated team shipped six goals in a Premier League match for the first time since 1991.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring after four minutes and Pep Guardiola’s men should have been further ahead four minutes later when Aguero somehow missed a tap-in with the goal gaping.
The Argentine striker’s afternoon got much better soon after as he curved home a sublime 25-yard effort before poaching a third to become City’s all-time leading league scorer.
Ilkay Gundogan added the fourth from 20 yards on 25 minutes before Aguero claimed his 11th top-flight treble for City from the spot, to equal Alan Shearer’s Premier League record.
Sterling notched his second of the afternoon late on as the Citizens moved above Liverpool courtesy of a superior goal difference, having played a game more.
The Reds game in hand is away to a rejuvenated Manchester United on February 24 – the same day City face Chelsea in the League Cup final.
Sarri’s men drop to sixth as a result of the heavy loss, one point adrift of the top four.
The Italian coach will face more difficult questions in the aftermath of such an alarming result, with his future at the club likely to be debated in the media.
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