MANCHESTER, England, Dec 28, (Agencies): Mario Balotelli scored a hat-trick as Manchester City maintained their push for the Premier League title with a crushing 4-0 win over a struggling Aston Villa at Eastlands here on Tuesday. The win ensured City moved to the summit of English football for the first time since August 2007. Balotelli opened the scoring with a penalty with just seven minutes gone and Joleon Lescott added a second with a header five minutes later. City’s third was the best goal of the afternoon, with Balotelli tapping in from close range after a long passing move just before the half hour mark. And the Italian striker completed his hat-trick after half-time with his second penalty. For Aston Villa, a sixth defeat in seven matches left the Birmingham club just two points above the relegation zone.

French manager Gerard Houllier, who has won just three of his 13 Premier League matches in charge, was abused by Villa supporters throughout the second half as his side went down to another miserable loss. City boss Roberto Mancini left star striker Carlos Tevez on the bench but the hosts controlled possession from the start and took an early lead. David Silva attempted to slide a pass into the area for Balotelli and young defender Eric Lichaj bundled the forward over for a clear penalty. Balotelli took the spot kick himself, calmly stroking the ball past Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel. City almost doubled their advantage when Silva’s pass picked out Yaya Toure and the midfielder’s shot was turned wide by Carlos Cuellar’s desperate block. But City scored from Adam Johnson’s ensuing corner, with Lescott’s header crossing the line before Barry Bannan could head away.

Villa created their first goalscoring chance with 15 minutes gone when Stewart Downing drilled a free kick just wide of Joe Hart’s goal. Midway through the first half City scored a third goal after a lengthy spell of possession. Yaya Toure picked out Silva, who burst into the area and hit a shot that Friedel could only palm out to Balotelli, who tapped into an empty net. City were hungry for more goals and Silva had a shot deflected wide by Lichaj. But eight minutes into the second half, a fine run from Johnson was halted by a trip from Marc Albrighton in the area, earning another penalty. Balotelli produced a replica of his first-half effort to put the game well beyond Villa’s reach. City substitute Jo could have scored a fifth when he got on the end of Vincent Kompany’s flick only to volley over the bar. Pablo Zabaleta also missed from long range after Jo made a mess of his attempted overhead kick from Johnson’s cross.

Spurs 2, Newcastle 0
In London, Tottenham overcame Younes Kaboul’s sending off to secure a 2-0 victory over Newcastle and provisionally dislodge Chelsea from the top four.
Kaboul was dismissed for an attempted head-butt on Cheick Tiote in the 65th minute shortly after Aaron Lennon had put Spurs in front.
Despite Newcastle enjoying a man advantage, Gareth Bale completed a speedy counterattack in the 81st to double Tottenham’s lead.
Not only did it complete a second successive victory for Spurs in the league, where they are unbeaten in their last eight matches, but it came two days after also defeating Aston Villa with 10 men.
“I’m disappointed with Younes, you can’t do that and he knows that — he’s sorry for what he did,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said. “You need to keep disciplined ... and make sure you don’t go down to 10 men, but to play again with 10 men we kept the ball great.”

Spurs are two points ahead of Chelsea, but their fifth-place London rivals are still to play Bolton on Wednesday.
Newcastle, which have lost three of its last four matches, are 12th in the standings.
The tone for a physical and scrappy encounter was set early on at White Hart Lane with challenges from imposing Newcastle forward Andy Carroll, who came closest when a header from Jonas Gutierrez’s cross that went over after 25 minutes.
From the home side, there was a half volley from Roman Pavlyuchenko that was blocked by diving goalkeeper Tim Krul and Rafael van der Vaart had a free kick tipped over, but the best chances came on the stroke of half time.
Van der Vaart skewed a free header wide of the target, while Pavlyuchenko’s nodded effort was pushed by Krul on to his left post and it hit the other but there was no Spurs man to connect with the loose ball.

Spurs did find the target in the 57th, with Lennon picking up ball from Kaboul, shifting to edge of the area and sending a low shot into the net from a tight angle via a slight deflection off James Perch.
Both Kaboul and Gutierrez had been booked at the start of the second half and tensions boiled over on the pitch and the touchline after Spurs went in front.
Alan Smith was furious that Anthony Taylor booked him for a challenge on Bale and he bellowed abuse at the Spurs wide man.
And from the 65th minute the home side played with 10 men after Tiote’s challenge on Kaboul prompted the Spurs defender to express his fury with an attempted head-butt on the Newcastle man.
Redknapp responded to Kaboul’s dismissal by replacing a striker — Pavlyuchenko — with a defender — Sebastien Bassong, formerly of Newcastle.
But when Van der Vaart was brought off in the 71st, the Netherlands playmaker was replaced by another striker: Peter Crouch.
Such positivity from Redknapp was nearly rewarded with 15 minutes remaining when Lennon struck wide from the same spot where he had previously scored.

Blackpool 2, Sunderland 0
In Sunderland, Blackpool striker DJ Campbell bagged a double as the Seasiders recorded an impressive 2-0 win against Sunderland.
Campbell struck twice in the second half at the Stadium of Light to lift Ian Holloway’s unfashionable side into eighth place.
Only Manchester United had previously won a league game at Sunderland in 2010 and although the visitors had keeper Richard Kingson and the crossbar to thank for their clean sheet, they continue to enjoy a remarkable first season in the Premier League.
Blackpool arrived on Wearside having not played since Dec 11 following a succession of postponed matches, but there were no signs of rust from Holloway’s men.
Sunderland’s Asamoah Gyan, who had earlier driven the ball into the side-netting from a tight angle, wastefully scuffed wide from Ahmed Elmohamady’s cross with the goal at his mercy in the first half.
But Blackpool, without captain Charlie Adam through suspension, found themselves on the back foot for lengthy periods, gradually worked their way into the game and had chances of their own.

Substitute Matt Phillips, on for the injured Elliot Grandin, beat Danny Welbeck and Phil Bardsley and crossed for Campbell, who made space for himself but couldn’t hit the target.
Campbell went much closer seven minutes before the break when he worked himself into a good position and fired a low 20-yard drive just wide. Blackpool took the lead with 52 minutes gone after the home side went to sleep at a corner.
Neil Eardley was given time and space to collect David Vaughan’s short pass and clip in a left-foot cross which Ian Evatt flicked on for Campbell to volley home from close range.

Fulham 2, Stoke 0
Fulham defender Chris Baird eased the pressure on boss Mark Hughes as his double-strike clinched a 2-0 win at Stoke.
Hughes had been barracked by Fulham fans after his side slumped into the relegation zone following a 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham on Boxing Day.
But the former Blackburn and Manchester City boss can breathe a little easier as the Cottagers climbed back out of the bottom three thanks to Baird’s first goals for four years.
The Northern Ireland international struck twice in the first 10 minutes as the west London team recorded their first Premier League away win in 27 attempts.
It took just four minutes for Fulham to take the lead. Simon Davies sent in a cross from the left that was only partially cleared and it fell to Baird, who rifled in a shot that Asmir Begovic couldn’t prevent crashing in off the post.

Fulham striker Andrew Johnson shot straight at Begovic moments later, but the visitors doubled their advantage in the 10th minute.
This time Baird smashed a long-range strike past Begovic after being teed up by a free-kick awarded when Jermaine Pennant had brought down Davies.
Stoke’s Dean Whitehead then lashed a shot over and protested that he had been impeded by a foul from Davies, but referee Kevin Friend waved the penalty appeals away.
Tony Pulis’ side kept pressing and defender Ryan Shawcross saw a header cleared off the line by Danny Murphy.
Stoke appealed in vain for two penalties as Friend ruled that neither Johnson or Brede Hangeland had been guilty of handball.
Pulis sent on Tuncay Sanli in place of Matthew Etherington before the Potters had their last chance to pull a goal back.
Ricardo Fuller laid the ball to Robert Huth, who hit a low effort that Mark Schwarzer dived to block.

Blackburn 3, West Brom 1
In Birmingham, Croatia striker Nikola Kalinic struck twice and was sent off as Blackburn Rovers gave Steve Kean his first win since being installed as caretaker boss with a 3-1 victory at West Brom.
The 22-year-old’s brace and one from Mame Diouf ended a run of three successive away defeats for Rovers and was a perfect response to the defeat by Stoke on Sunday which heralded Kean’s naming as manager for the remainder of the campaign in place of the popular Sam Allardyce.
Defeat for West Brom deepens worries about being involved in a long running relegation battle after a successful start to their campaign but Roberto di Matteo’s side have lost seven of their last 10 league matches and are only four points ahead of third from bottom Birmingham City.
Rovers struck early as Kalinic steamed onto the recalled El Hadji Diouf’s long ball, and calmly shot past Scott Carson in the third minute.
The hosts, though, replied a quarter of an hour later with a nicely worked effort as James Morrison started the move which saw him find Somen Tchoyi, whose cross was tucked away by Jerome Thomas past former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
West Brom enjoyed a period of domination but Kalinic broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 53rd minute as he tapped home Kiwi defender Ryan Nelsen’s header from playmaker Morten Gamst Pedersen’s freekick.
The visitors wrapped up the points nine minutes later when El Hadji Diouf, who appeared to have been energised by being dropped for the previous match, crossed and Mame Diouf headed into the net.

Everton 1 West Ham 1
In London, West Ham missed a chance to climb out of the relegation zone as Everton fought back to earn a 1-1 draw at Upton Park on Tuesday.
Avram Grant’s side could have ended 2010 outside the bottom three with a victory and the Hammers were on course when an own goal from Everton defender Tony Hibbert gave them a first half lead.
But Seamus Coleman equalised for Everton just before half-time and the east London outfit remain second bottom of the Premier League going into the new year.
After ending their 27-game wait for an away win in the league with a 3-1 triumph at Fulham on Sunday, West Ham were looking for back-to-back top-flight victories for the first time this season.
Everton’s Sylvain Distin threatened early on when he got in behind the Hammers defence but his touch took him too wide to keep his shot on target.
That narrow escape drew an immediate response from West Ham and they took the lead with a stroke of luck in the 16th minute.
When Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard parried a James Tomkins header to Radoslav Kovac, the Czech midfielder’s overhead kick looked harmless but it took a huge deflection off Hibbert and flashed into the net.

Matthew Upson headed over from Victor Obinna’s free-kick as West Ham pressed for a second. But Everton equalised three minutes before half-time when Coleman made a perfectly-timed run to sidefoot in Tim Cahill’s cross at the far post.
West Ham tried to regain the initiative but Upson headed off target from a corner and Scott Parker lofted a chip just over.
South Africa midfielder Steven Pienaar almost put Everton ahead when he curled narrowly over early in the second half.
But neither side were able to impose themselves and Grant sent on Carlton Cole, who scored twice in the win at Fulham, in place of Frederic Piquionne in the 56th minute.
The move almost paid immediate dividends. Obinna’s pass sent Freddie Sears clear on the break and the winger’s cross found Cole, but the England striker completely miscued his finish.
Everton had two chances in quick succession when Cahill steered Pienaar’s cutback straight at Robert Green before the West Ham goalkeeper pushed away Marouane Fellaini’s header from the resulting corner.
Cahill - who is set to leave for the Asian Cup in January - did put the ball in the net moments later but the Australian was well offside and that was the final chance for either side.

Arsenal 3, Chelsea 1
In London, Arsenal kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United and delivered a hammer blow to Chelsea’s hopes of retaining the title with a 3-1 victory over the struggling champions.
Arsene Wenger’s side had repeatedly failed to produce the goods in crunch matches against their London rivals, but they finally rose to the occasion as goals from Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott gave them a vital victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Branislav Ivanovic got one back for Chelsea but the damage had already been done and Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti could face a fight to save his job after his team’s sixth league game without a win.
Arsenal’s triumph - their first in 12 games against Chelsea and United - lifted them back into second place and within two points of the leaders.

In contrast, Chelsea’s title hopes are close to being extinguished. They are six points behind United, who have a game in hand, and even a place in the top four can’t be taken for granted on this woeful form.
Although Ancelotti’s team had taken just six points from their last seven matches, the club’s worst run since 1998, they should have been able to draw inspiration from their dominance over Arsenal in recent years.
Didier Drogba threatened early on when he latched onto Frank Lampard’s pass and smashed his shot just wide.
The Gunners looked hamstrung by nerves during a tame 1-0 defeat against United in their last match and Wenger knew they needed a more dynamic performance this time.
Wenger’s players rose to the challenge in impressive fashion and controlled possession right from the start.
Samir Nasri brought Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech into action for the first time with a long-range free-kick.

Wenger’s side kept probing and Robin van Persie blazed over before Cech plunged at Walcott’s feet to block the winger’s shot.
It took an even better save from Cech to keep Chelsea on level terms when he stretched every sinew to tip over Nasri’s deft chip.
Arsenal’s pressure finally told in the 44th minute as Song surged into the penalty area after playing a one-two with Jack Wilshere.
The ball broke towards Fabregas and, as the Arsenal captain collided with Paulo Ferreira, Cameroon midfielder Song seized his chance and drove a low shot past Cech.
Lampard’s presence in the Chelsea starting line-up for the first time in four months after hernia and groin injuries was supposed to inspire the Blues, but the England midfielder was well off the pace.
If Ancelotti read the riot act at half-time, he must have been sorely disappointed with the response from his lacklustre stars.

In the space of 90 seconds, two sloppy pieces of Chelsea defending presented Arsenal with the goals that put the result beyond doubt.
First, Michael Essien’s 51st minute tackle on Fabregas sent the ball into Walcott’s path.
Walcott was then granted too much space by former Arsenal defender Ashley Cole and he was able to sprint clear before sliding a pass to Fabregas, who stroked his shot past Cech.
Arsenal were rampant now and, with Chelsea looking more shambolic by the second, Walcott took full advantage as he caught Florent Malouda in possession and flicked a pass to Fabregas.
The Spaniard’s return ball put Walcott through on goal and he drove a fine finish into the far corner of Cech’s net, prompting a furious response from Drogba, who argued with team-mate John Terry before the restart.
Even when Ivanovic reduced the deficit by heading Drogba’s free-kick home in the 57th minute, there was little realistic hope of a Chelsea comeback as Arsenal cruised to their most important win of the season.