Sergio Aguero scored twice as Manchester City revived their faltering title challenge with a thumping 4-0 home win over bottom club Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.
The victory ended fourth-placed City’s three-game losing streak in the league and took them onto 50 points with a game in hand over the clubs above them.
"All the teams will lose points from now until the end of the season," coach Manuel Pellegrini told reporters. "We need other teams to lose points, we are not just depending on what we can do. We are going to play every game as a final."
Yaya Toure opened the floodgates at the start of the second half when his side-footed effort deflected in off Micah Richards.
Two minutes later, Aguero charged down Richards’ clearance and watched on as the ball looped over the advancing Brad Guzan.
The Argentine added a third, and his 21st goal of the season, with a low shot in the 60th minute following David Silva’s beautifully chipped pass.
Substitute Raheem Sterling made it 4-0 with a back-post tap-in six minutes later, before Aguero missed the chance of a hat-trick when his 73rd-minute penalty hit the post after Ciaran Clark had tripped Kelechi Iheanacho.
"We are going to be involved in the title race until the end -- the margin for error is very small but this team has the experience to try to win the title," said Pellegrini.
Defender Gael Clichy said everything was still possible.
"It’s not just talk, it’s the feeling we have in the squad and in the dressing room," he said. "Until the last minute of the last game we’re going to fight for it and we know we have a good chance if we play like this."
(Reporting by Ed Dove, Editing by Alan Baldwin)
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