Gabriel Jesus’s four-goal haul helped Manchester City beat Watford 5-1 on Saturday, with Rodri netting the other for Pep Guardiola’s men.
The win moves City four points clear of Liverpool, who play Everton on Sunday.
It was a first half not short of goalmouth action at the Etihad, and it took just three and a half minutes for City to open the scoring, with Jesus prodding in Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross from just a few yards out.
He doubled the lead soon after, this time heading in Kevin De Bruyne’s pinpoint cross as the hosts dominated possession.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic though, with Zinchenko sprinting back and making a goal-saving challenge to deny Emmanuel Dennis a shot on target, before Watford grabbed an unlikely goal via Hassane Kamara.
The left-back continued his run from deep and was slipped the ball inside the City box and then unleashed a powerful effort which snuck into the bottom corner.
But Rodri restored the two-goal lead in the 34th minute after he controlled the ball and smashed a powerful effort from outside the box which dipped just over Ben Foster and into the back of the net.
Watford’s inability to defend cost them after the break, and Foster gave away a penalty just 18 seconds into the second half for flying out and knocking Jesus off his stride.
It was the Brazilian who confidently strode up and slotted it past the Watford keeper to net his third.
But he wasn’t done there, and within a few minutes the City No.9 stroked the ball into the net following a City breakaway and scored his fourth of the game.
It proved to be the final goal of the afternoon, although Jesus did have the chance to add to his total, while Joao Cancelo also fired wide from distance and Jack Grealish had a good chance saved by Foster in the second half.
Here’s how we rated the players…
It was a first half not short of goalmouth action at the Etihad, and it took just three and a half minutes for City to open the scoring, with Jesus prodding in Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross from just a few yards out.
5. Oleksandr Zinchenko- 7
His excellent recovery run and tackle stopped Dennis shooting when clean through on goal, and the defender impressed on Saturday with his good range of passing.
6. Fernandinho- 6
Playing alongside Rodri allowed Fernandinho more opportunities to advance forward, but the City skipper largely kept things simple in the middle.
7. Rodri- 8 (off 71)
Helped link the defence and midfield, and rarely misplaced a pass all game. His fantastic strike was probably the pick of the goals for City.
8. Gabriel Jesus- 9
A great display from the attacker who showed his knack for being in the right place by netting all four goals inside the box. But it was an all-round impressive showing from Jesus, who operated on both the right and left flanks. A deserved man of the match for Jesus.