Sergio Aguero Breaks 2 EPL Records as Manchester City Crush Aston Villa 6-1

Manchester City went second in the Premier League after thrashing Aston Villa 6-1 on Sunday. Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick to set two top-flight records, while Riyad Mahrez bagged a brace and Gabriel Jesus also found the net at Villa Park.  

Aguero's second goal helped him surpass Arsenal legend Thierry Henry as the highest-scoring foreign striker in Premier League history. His third completed a 12th hat-trick, breaking Alan Shearer's record for the most in the competition.

The emphatic win means the Citizens capitalised on Leicester City's surprise 2-1 defeat at home to Southampton on Saturday. City are still 14 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have also played a game less.

Meanwhile, Villa, who scored via an Anwar El Ghazi penalty in injury time, stay in the bottom three after being overtaken by a resurgent Watford side that beat Bournemouth 3-0 earlier in the day.

City boss Pep Guardiola signalled his intent with a bold team selection that paired Aguero and Jesus together up top. Yet it was Mahrez who stole the show ahead of City's prolific strikers early on.

The winger used all his wizardry to leave former Leicester City team-mate Danny Drinkwater trailing before firing the visitors into an 18th-minute lead. It was proving to be a rough Villa debut for Drinkwater, who recently joined on loan from Burnley, and his misplaced pass helped Mahrez complete a brace six minutes later.

Mahrez had City purring, and the confidence began showing among the attacking talent around him. Aguero was obviously bullish when he picked up the ball outside the box on 28 minutes. The Argentinian took the shot on and was rewarded when the ball rifled into the back of the net. It was a goal fitting of drawing City's prolific No. 10 level with Henry.

There was still time for City to add a fourth in first-half stoppage time. It was beautifully crafted, with Kevin De Bruyne striking a pinpoint pass for Jesus to convert:

If Villa expected mercy after the break, Aguero showed them ruthless City had other ideas. The 31-year-old finally surpassed Henry to have the record all to himself following some fine work from David Silva 12 minutes after the restart.

Aguero's numbers put his staggering achievement into even more impressive context:

Having the points in the bag allowed Guardiola to rest some key players. He withdrew De Bruyne and Fernandinho for Phil Foden and Nicolas Otamendi, before Ilkay Gundogan came on for Rodri.

Aguero stayed on, and he wasn't content with earning just one record. Instead, he sealed his 12th hat-trick at this level:

Villa's lone moment of joy came after Gundogan felled Trezeguet in the box. VAR confirmed the decision to award a spot-kick, and El Ghazi made no mistake from 12 yards.

There was also no mistake about City's awesome class in forward areas. This team almost certainly won't win a third title in a row, but there's little doubt Guardiola's group remains the most entertaining to watch.

What's Next?

City host Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Watford have an FA Cup third-round replay away to League One strugglers Tranmere Rovers set for Tuesday.