London: A Sergio Aguero hat-trick helped Manchester City get back to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United, as they stayed 12 points ahead of Manchester United who had to dig deep to secure a 1-0 win at Burnley, thanks to a 54th-minute strike by Anthony Martial.
Chelsea stayed three points adrift of United as they enjoyed a 4-0 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion, while Arsenal were quick off the mark, scoring four goals inside the first 22 minutes in a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Having suffered their first league defeat of the season at Liverpool last weekend, Pep Guardiola’s side initially struggled at the Etihad Stadium before Aguero glanced in a Kevin De Bruyne cross after 34 minutes.
The Argentine doubled their lead from the penalty spot shortly after the hour mark when Raheem Sterling was brought down by Javier Manquillo in the box. Four minutes later, Jacob Murphy dinked the ball over home goalkeeper Ederson to score his first goal for Newcastle. However, Aguero scored his 14th goal in the league seven minutes from time to keep City on course for the title.
Arsenal, who hadn’t won in their last five games in all competitions, took lead through a Nacho Monreal header and then he turned provider for close-range goals by Alex Iwobi in the 10th and Laurent Koscielny three minutes later. Alexandre Lacazette made it four for the home side in the 22nd minute before Luka Milivojevic scored the consolation goal for the visitors in the 78th minute.
At Brighton and Hove Albion, Eden Hazard and Willian struck inside six minutes to set them on their way. Hazard then brilliantly netted a third, his second of the match, 13 minutes from time before Victor Moses made it four late on.
reuters
