Foden scores a hat trick as Man City routs Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Phil Foden scored a stunning hat trick as Manchester City routed Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League on Wednesday.

The England international's treble fired City to within a point of first-place Arsenal and level with Liverpool in second.

In the absence of

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne

, who had been left out of Pep Guardiola's starting lineup, Foden proved the inspiration at Etihad Stadium and took his total to 21 goals this season.

He struck just before halftime and then twice after the break as City extended its unbeaten run to 24 games in all competitions.

Rodri had put the defending champion ahead when he fired in from close range after Jeremy Doku's cross in the 11th minute.

The lead lasted just nine minutes when Jhon Duran leveled for Villa — beating City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega from a tight angle.

City went on to dominate the chances before the break, with Julian Alvarez denied by the legs of Villa keeper Robin Olsen, who was a late replacement for Emiliano Martinez due to illness.

But the home team was ahead again in the first minute of first-half stoppage through Foden, who curled home a low free kick from the edge of the box.

Villa had chances to get back into the match in the second half until Foden took control.

He rolled his second into bottom corner with another clinical finish in the 62nd and he blasted his third into the top corner from the edge of the box seven minutes later.

___

James Robson is at

https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

___

AP soccer:

https://apnews.com/hub/soccer