Premier League: Man CIty 4 Aston Villa 0

Mario Balotelli bagged a hat-trick against Aston Villa to send Manchester City top of the Premier League.

Defender Joleon Lescott also got on the board to round off the scoring at Eastlands, as Roberto Mancini’s men cruised to a 4-0 victory over a disappointing Villa team.

It took only eight minutes for City to break the deadlock, Balotelli grabbing his first from the penalty spot.

David Silva did well to create space in the box before feeding the Italian who went down under a heavy challenge from defender Eric Lichaj, before duly dispatching the spot-kick past Brad Friedel.

Manchester City’s second came in controversial circumstances and will again ignite the debate surrounding goal-line technology.

Adam Johnson’s corner was met at the near post by the head of Lescott and, despite the best efforts of Barry Bannan on the line, the assistant referee judged the whole of the ball to have crossed the line.

Aston Villa, though, could have had no complaints about City’s third, as Balotelli doubled his tally for the day with a close-range tap-in.

Friedel could only parry Silva’s fierce left-footed shot into the path of the 20-year-old, leaving him with the easy task of slotting the ball into an empty net.

In the second half, Balotelli picked up where he’d left off in the first and completed his hat-trick in the 55th minute.

Johnson’s trickery saw him hauled down by Marc Albrighton, with Balotelli nonchalantly stepping up to send Friedel the wrong way and complete his treble with his second penalty of the match.

City are now one point clear at the top, ahead of arch rivals Manchester United, while Villa manager Gerard Houllier will face a backlash from fans as his side slip further down the table after only one win in their last seven games.