Sergio Aguero’s hat-trick earned Manchester City a 3-1 home victory over Arsenal to take them to within two points of the Premier League summit.
Aguero opened the scoring after 46 seconds, after Alex Iwobi was dispossessed in the penalty area, and the Argentinian met Aymeric Laporte’s cross with a headlong dive.
Arsenal leveled from a set-piece on 11 minutes, Nacho Monreal flicking on Lucas Torreira’s corner for Laurent Koscielny to head in from close range.
But City reclaimed the lead a minute before half-time from a delightful team move. Ilkay Gundogan picked out Raheem Sterling with a lofted pass and Aguero dispatched the winger’s first-time pass.
Aguero became only the second player to reach 10 PL hat-tricks, after Alan Shearer, when he finished off more great approach play on the left by Sterling in the 61st minute.
Victory takes City second, with 59 points, two fewer than leaders Liverpool, who visit West Ham United on Monday.
Arsenal slip to sixth place, a point behind Manchester United, and three behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
On the other hand, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains unbeaten and is presenting an increasingly compelling case to be named Manchester United’s permanent manager, after now succeeding where Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Maurizio Sarri have all tripped up.
It is nine victories from ten games for Solskjaer and while it was not a performance full of the recent verve and vigour, Marcus Rashford’s winner on his 100th Premier League appearance lifted United closer towards the top four.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea stumbled against Claude Puel’s unpredictable Leicester side in recent weeks and United had to withstand a second-half of constant pressure to maintain their manager’s outstanding record.
Solskjaer has now won five consecutive away games in all competitions for the first time since a similar sequence in September and October 2012, in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge.
