Phil Foden completed an incredible hat-trick and reached a personal milestone at Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Foden underlined his importance to Pep Guardiola ahead of a gritty title run involving Liverpool and Arsenal with a fine individual performance against Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old scored three times against Unai Emery‘s side, including his first-ever direct free-kick – though he might have Nicolo Zaniolo to thank.
The England international grabbed his second to make it 3-1 to City with a delightful finish into the bottom corner after an hour of play before wrestling himself off the floor to plant a shot into the roof of the net moments later in.
That was his 21st strike of the campaign in all competitions and his hat-trick has seen the attacking midfielder reach 20 goals in a single campaign for the first time as a professional player.
It was no surprise to see Guardiola take Foden out of the fray shortly after completing his hat-trick and replacing him with fellow academy graduate Oscar Bobb.
That also gave the Etihad crowd to give the youngster a standing ovation as a fitting display after his stellar performance.
Foden’s hat-trick came at the perfect time for City, who might have seen Wednesday’s match against Aston Villa as a potential banana slip.
Rodri had put the Premier League champions ahead early into the contest but Jhon Duran managed to net an equaliser to make it a nervy half for the home side.
With Arsenal already beating Luton Town down in London, City had to keep the pace in a title battle that will no doubt go down to the slimmest of margins.
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But just before half-time, Foden took responsibility for a free-kick on the edge of the box – and rightly so as he pinged his effort past Robin Olsen.
It gave City the lead again in the first half before Foden took charge after the break.
His second goal owed to plenty of work from Rodri, who beat two players before a delightful pass found Foden on the edge of the box.
With a first-time finish, the Stockport-born ace tucked the ball right into the corner that left Olsen statuesque.
Just seven minutes later saw Foden wrap up his hat-trick after unleashing a fine drive into the top of the net, making this his best-ever season in front of goal.
With 10 assists also to his name, the City star has 31 goal contributions in all competitions while this is also the first top-four side that the champions have beaten this season.
Guardiola saw his side return to winning ways after consecutive draws to Liverpool and Arsenal in the league.
Earlier in the campaign, the Gunners beat them at the Emirates while Liverpool drew at the Etihad in November.
There are eight games left for City, who stay third and level on points with Jurgen Klopp‘s side, who have a game in hand now.