<p>Manchester City scorched to the top of the Premier League with a ruthless 5-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur as Chelsea’s title ambitions were hit by a 0-0 home draw with West Ham United on Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany were on target as City followed their 6-0 thrashing of Spurs in the reverse fixture this season with another thrilling exhibition of attacking football.<br /><br />They were helped on their way by a controversial decision to send off Tottenham defender Danny Rose for a foul on Dzeko, for which City were awarded the penalty which Toure converted for the second goal.<br /><br />Yet they ruthlessly exploited the extra man to move to 53 points, one clear of Arsenal and three ahead of Chelsea, who were frustrated by a fiercely resilient West Ham side at Stamford Bridge.<br /><br />Aston Villa emerged with the spoils from the night’s most entertaining fixture, edging a seven-goal thriller 4-3 against midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion having fallen 2-0 down after nine minutes.<br /><br />Sunderland eased their worries by moving out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Stoke City.<br /><br />Manchester City’s mauling of Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in November was the trigger for an unbeaten run that now stands at 20 games in all competitions. <br /><br />Confidence was clearly bubbling to the surface as they began with the swagger of potential title winners, putting their foot on Tottenham’s throat with their high-tempo pressing.<br /><br />Aguero, who later hobbled off with a hamstring injury, broke the deadlock after 15 minutes by sliding a precise finish past Hugo Lloris after David Silva had picked out his run with a delicate throughball.<br /><br />It was his 50th Premier League goal and ensured he became the fifth fastest to reach the milestone behind Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Fernando Torres.<br /><br />Tottenham felt aggrieved to have a goal chalked off as Michael Dawson was adjudged offside when side-footing in a Christian Eriksen free-kick, but their annoyance was multiplied when City doubled their lead.<br /><br />Rose dived in from behind to tackle Dzeko and appeared to take the ball but the linesman flagged for a penalty, the Tottenham defender was dismissed and Toure sweetly slammed home from the penalty spot.<br /><br />The third followed almost immediately when Dzeko pounced on a rebound to score his seventh goal in six games, and despite Etienne Capoue briefly raising the home fans’ spirits with a consolation, there was more misery to follow.<br /><br />Jovetic, Aguero’s replacement, scored his first Premier League goal when he cut inside and curled the ball past Lloris and Kompany showed quick reflexes to add a fifth when a Dzeko shot cannoned off Nabil Bentaleb.</p>
<p>Manchester City scorched to the top of the Premier League with a ruthless 5-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur as Chelsea’s title ambitions were hit by a 0-0 home draw with West Ham United on Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany were on target as City followed their 6-0 thrashing of Spurs in the reverse fixture this season with another thrilling exhibition of attacking football.<br /><br />They were helped on their way by a controversial decision to send off Tottenham defender Danny Rose for a foul on Dzeko, for which City were awarded the penalty which Toure converted for the second goal.<br /><br />Yet they ruthlessly exploited the extra man to move to 53 points, one clear of Arsenal and three ahead of Chelsea, who were frustrated by a fiercely resilient West Ham side at Stamford Bridge.<br /><br />Aston Villa emerged with the spoils from the night’s most entertaining fixture, edging a seven-goal thriller 4-3 against midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion having fallen 2-0 down after nine minutes.<br /><br />Sunderland eased their worries by moving out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Stoke City.<br /><br />Manchester City’s mauling of Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in November was the trigger for an unbeaten run that now stands at 20 games in all competitions. <br /><br />Confidence was clearly bubbling to the surface as they began with the swagger of potential title winners, putting their foot on Tottenham’s throat with their high-tempo pressing.<br /><br />Aguero, who later hobbled off with a hamstring injury, broke the deadlock after 15 minutes by sliding a precise finish past Hugo Lloris after David Silva had picked out his run with a delicate throughball.<br /><br />It was his 50th Premier League goal and ensured he became the fifth fastest to reach the milestone behind Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Fernando Torres.<br /><br />Tottenham felt aggrieved to have a goal chalked off as Michael Dawson was adjudged offside when side-footing in a Christian Eriksen free-kick, but their annoyance was multiplied when City doubled their lead.<br /><br />Rose dived in from behind to tackle Dzeko and appeared to take the ball but the linesman flagged for a penalty, the Tottenham defender was dismissed and Toure sweetly slammed home from the penalty spot.<br /><br />The third followed almost immediately when Dzeko pounced on a rebound to score his seventh goal in six games, and despite Etienne Capoue briefly raising the home fans’ spirits with a consolation, there was more misery to follow.<br /><br />Jovetic, Aguero’s replacement, scored his first Premier League goal when he cut inside and curled the ball past Lloris and Kompany showed quick reflexes to add a fifth when a Dzeko shot cannoned off Nabil Bentaleb.</p>
