EPL Winners and Losers After Sunday's 2020 Week 22 Premier League Results
Manchester City ripped through Aston Villa on the road on Sunday with a 6-1 Premier League victory.
Sergio Aguero became the top-scoring overseas player in Premier League history after bagging a hat-trick at Villa Park, taking his tally to 177 goals.
The treble was Aguero's 12th in the Premier League, meaning he surpassed Alan Shearer's record for most hat-tricks in the division.
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Elsewhere, Watford's revival and fight against relegation continued with an impressive 3-0 win at Bournemouth.
Sunday's Results
Bournemouth 0-3 Watford
Villa 1-6 Manchester City
Winners and Losers
Winner: Manchester City's Attack
There's never been a doubt about Pep Guardiola's squad's awesome firepower, but with the help of some awful defending from Villa, City proved why they are one of the most dangerous teams on the planet.
The champions failed to keep a clean sheet after conceding a penalty at the death, but Sky Blues supporters won't mind after watching their forwards blitz the home team.
Raheem Sterling watched from the substitute's bench after Riyad Mahrez was given the start, and the Algeria captain embraced his opportunity with a tremendous brace.
Mahrez opened the scoring after 18 minutes and added his second six minutes later. Villa were exposed by Guardiola's tactics, which allowed his attackers to express themselves.
Aguero made it 3-0 after 28 minutes as the the first half became a nightmare for the promoted team, and Gabriel Jesus smashed home the fourth on the stroke of half-time.
City refused to take their foot off the accelerator after the restart. Kevin De Bruyne was at his vintage best, and the visitors netted twice more as Aguero completed his hat-trick and claimed his scoring records.
This was the Sky Blues at their most potent. Villa did their best to help their opponents with a range of errors and mistakes, but the plaudits must go to City and their mercurial Argentina international.
Aguero surpassed Arsenal icon Thierry Henry to write his name in history as the Premier League's greatest scoring talent from outside of England.
Loser: Raheem Sterling
The England superstar has 16 goals in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League this term, but the forward has recently slipped in form and found himself on the bench at Villa.
Aguero and Jesus were handed a rare chance to start together, and it was Sterling who missed out on the feast of goals.
Sterling netted twice during City's shock 3-2 Premier League loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Dec. 27, but the winger has failed to score in his two starts since.
The player might find himself out of the starting Xl for the next league game against Crystal Palace, with City's forwards displaying ruthless aggression on Sunday.
Jesus looked comfortable playing off Aguero, darting from the left and providing duties as a No. 10. However, it will be Mahrez's performance that might trouble Sterling.
The Algerian was unplayable at times, and his link-up play with De Bruyne will have immensely pleased Guardiola.
Winner: Troy Deeney
Deeney's Vicarage Road hero status is guaranteed, but he will reach new heights of glorification if he leads Watford to safety.
The Hornets appeared dead and buried before Deeney returned from injury, and the arrival of new manager Nigel Pearson has aided an explosion of good form.
Travelling to Bournemouth to face the spiralling Cherries was perfect for Deeney and his team-mates, and the victory on the south coast—coupled with Villa's capitulation against City—saw Watford climb out of the bottom three.
Abdoulaye Doucoure gave the visitors a lead three minutes before half-time, and Deeney had away fans wildly celebrating when he struck after 65 minutes. The three points were assured as Roberto Pereyra added a third in stoppage time.
It's been a miraculous rise from Watford. They're now unbeaten in their last six in all competitions, scoring 14 goals over this period.
Their ascent with Deeney back from injury shows just how important the forward is to his club.
Loser: Eddie Howe
The 42-year-old has long been considered one of the brightest English coaching talents around, but Howe's team are now on the brink of disaster.
Bournemouth are a modern-day Premier League success story, but they will be in the EFL Championship next season unless they find a dramatic improvement.
Howe's men have just five league wins under their belt this season. Their confidence has evaporated, and the manager appears out of ideas.
Bournemouth have been known to produce inspired results, and a 1-0 win against Manchester United in November was followed by a 1-0 victory at Chelsea in December. However, five losses were squeezed between these excellent results, and Howe's side simply cannot find good consistency.
The Cherries have collected one point from a possible 15 in their last five league games, and they sit one place above bottom of the table.
A jump into the January transfer market might help Howe, and with the next three games against lowly sides, victory must be forthcoming. Bournemouth play Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Villa next, and Howe must find a way of climbing to safety.
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