Sergio Aguero continued his good scoring form with a hat-trick as Manchester City beat 10-man Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The striker has 13 goals in his last 12 top-flight appearances and his display helped Man City move up to third position ahead of Arsenal, who play Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Kevin De Bruyne was a constant menace for City on his first return to the club who sold him in 2014, playing a key role in Aguero’s first two goals, which both came from swift counter-attacks.
Thibaut Courtois was shown a red card for fouling Fernandinho inside the box, and Aguero was afforded the chance to complete his hat-trick. He made no mistake.
Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri returned to the starting line-up but David Silva was rested with an ongoing ankle injury.
Chelsea also welcomed Courtois, Gary Cahill and Willian back into the team but their return could not save the defending champions.
With this loss, Guus Hiddink’s men have won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions.
Meanwhile, in other matches played on Saturday, Aston Villa were relegated to English football’s second tier for the first time since 1987 after defeat at Manchester United.
Newcastle claimed a first win under Rafael Benitez as they overcame Swansea to bolster their chances of survival.
Sunderland also climbed to within a point of safety by beating relegation rivals Norwich 3-0 at Carrow road.
Southampton’s hopes of a European spot suffered a setback as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Everton.
Saido Berahino missed two second-half penalties as Watford hung on for a narrow win against West Brom.
