Phil Foden struck a wonderful hat-trick as Manchester City kept the pressure on Arsenal and Liverpool by crushing Aston Villa 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

City left Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench after failing to break down Arsenal in Sunday's goalless draw, but the star duo were hardly missed as Pep Guardiola's men ran riot.

How the match unfolded

Rodri fired them ahead early on and though Jhon Duran equalised for Villa, that proved a minor setback as Foden took charge, netting with a first-half free-kick and adding two fine finishes after the break.

The result kept City within one point of Arsenal following the Gunners' 2-0 win over Luton Town, while they sit level with Liverpool ahead of the Reds’ meeting with Sheffield United on Thursday.

City didn't take long to open the scoring as Rodri's strike rewarded their early dominance inside 15 minutes. Foden found Jeremy Doku on the right, and the latter's low cross was slammed into the roof of the net at the near post.

Villa only required nine minutes to level, though, as Duran stayed onside and picked out the bottom-right corner superbly after Morgan Rogers' sumptuous pass in behind caught City napping.

A late replacement for the sick Emiliano Martinez, Robin Olsen could do nothing as Foden restored City's lead with a textbook free-kick on the stroke of half-time, the England man whipping his effort through the Villa wall.

He made it 3-1 shortly after the hour mark as City moved through the gears, stroking a first-time finish into the bottom-right corner upon taking in Rodri's pass.

Foden's third, arriving just nine minutes later, was the pick of the bunch as he shifted the ball onto his left foot before firing into the top-right corner from 20 yards out.

Villa were a beaten team from there and only the woodwork denied substitute Sergio Gomez a fourth, as Unai Emery's team missed the chance to pull five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in the race for a top-four finish.

Foden offered up an inspired performance, strengthening his bid for the Premier League's Player of the Season award by moving to 14 league goals for the campaign.

In all competitions, Foden now has 21 goals for the season, and is one of just five players from Europe's top five leagues to register at least 20 goals and 10 assists in 2023/24.

With Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Ollie Watkins among the others, it's an exciting time to be an England fan.

While Watkins' injury-enforced absence likely left Villa fans with a sinking feeling, the performance of replacement Duran may have inspired hope.

At 20 years and 112 days old, he became the youngest visiting player to score at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League since Marcus Rashford in March 2016, who was aged 18 years and 141 days.

With Villa assessing the severity of Watkins' hamstring problem, Emery at least has a capable deputy.

Duran is one of just three players to start more than one Premier League match and have more goals (three) than starts (two) in the competition, alongside Adam Le Fondre (11 starts, 12 goals) and Apostolos Vellios (two starts, three goals).

Club reports

Man City report | Aston Villa report

Match officials

Referee: Darren England. Assistants: Eddie Smart, Nick Greenhalgh. Fourth official: Rob Jones. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Simon Bennett.