Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 on Wednesday, led by a magnificent hat-trick from Phil Foden, keeping their prospects of winning the Premier League title alive.

City is in third place with 67 points. From the beginning, City controlled the ball and went ahead in the eleventh minute when Rodri headed in a cross from Jeremy Doku.

But in the 20th minute, Villa stunned the home fans when Jhon Duran, then 20 years old, chipped into the far corner following a deft one-two with Morgan Rogers.

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But with Erling Haaland, City’s top scorer in the league, not utilised as a replacement, Foden got to work, breaking through Villa’s defence with an incredible free kick shortly before halftime.

In the 62nd minute, Rodri broke through Villa’s defence to set up Foden for his second goal.

The 23-year-old then finished off his hat-trick with a 25-yard rocket into the top corner.

Foden scored his 21st goal for City this season in all competitions, and when he was replaced, the England international was greeted with a standing ovation.

With 59 points, Unai Emery’s team is still in the running for a Champions League spot despite having played one more game than Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently in fifth position.

Although Villa had not triumphed at the Etihad since 2007, they defeated City 1-0 at Villa Park in December.

The score could have been even more lopsided, as City had 67.4% of the possession and 11 shots on goal compared to the visitors’ three.

After defeating Luton Town 2-0, Arsenal moved up to into first place with 68 points, level with Liverpool, who can reclaim the top spot with a victory over Sheffield United at home on Thursday.

In advance of their away matches against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals and Crystal Palace in the league, Haaland and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne did not play for City on Wednesday.