Sergio Agüero cemented his place in the history books with a fantastic five-goal haul, as Manchester City thrashed Newcastle rather comprehensively - an eyewatering 6-1 thrashing at the Ethiad this afternoon.
Having scored a late dramatic winner to seal all three points against Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League, Agüero was undoubtedly hoping that goal would help him get back into his razor-sharp form - having endured a tough start to the 2015/16 campaign in all competitions.
Newcastle start well, but Agüero steals the headlines
He did just that too, as the sky Blues leapfrogged local rivals United ahead of their tricky away task against Arsenal tomorrow afternoon. However it was not all plain sailing for the hosts, despite Kevin de Bruyne forcing goalkeeper Tim Krul into an early save after just seven minutes from his curling free-kick effort. Fernando had two opportunites to slot home from close-range, but mis-timed his attempts and the Dutchman was able to clear the danger away from goal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic netted his first goal in the English top flight, after a flick-on into his path by Georginio Wijnaldum. The whole move was orchestrated by Kevin Mbabu, who accelerated down the flank past Pablo Zabaleta, before his teasing cross was partially cleared by Eliaquim Mangala - straight into the oppositions' path.
City's defensive frailties were emphasised once more in the 24th minute. Some patient build-up in the final third was finished off at the far post by Mitrovic, but his finish was ruled out for an offside call - as he was marginally offside as the ball was played on the right-hand side. Replays showed it was the correct decision, and although the linesman's choice was justified, it was a wake-up call for the hosts.
Agüero saw a sweetly-struck effort flash narrowly wide of the far post, after a marauding run forward by Fernandinho in midfield. Then on the stroke of the interval, City levelled the scoring in some style, too. David Silva weaved his magic on the edge of the box, before lofting a ball into the area - which Fernandinho headed goalwards. Agüero was lurking to his right, and was quickest to the ball to head home from close-range.
City lucky not to be behind at the break, and take advantage
Manuel Pellegrini's men went into the break with the scores level, and they could have easily been two or three goals down. So in that respect, the Chilean would have been grateful they didn't have a deficit to overturn.
They flexed their counter-attacking muscles shortly after the second-half began though, as Agüero scored his second of the game in the 49th minute. A limp pass by Chancel Mbemba was sniffed out by de Bruyne, whose lay-off to Silva allowed the talented Argentine through towards the edge of the box.
His strike deflected off Yoan Gouffran - and the flight of the ball deceived the dive of Krul, nestling into the bottom corner of the net within seconds afterwards. A minute afterwards, City made it a quick-fire double, with Agüero completing his hat-trick within a flash.
de Bruyne's inch-perfect through ball fed the run of Sergio, and his deft flick over Krul floated into the net - sending City supporters into sheer delight. Then, the talented Belgian netted one for himself, from a teasing delivery by substitute Jesús Navas on the flank, whose looping half-volley kissed the top of the net below the crossbar. 4-1 and cruising, the Citizens continued to power themselves in-front. Agüero scored his fourth and fifth of the goal, first with a curling effort, then a simple sliding strike at the near post.
Newcastle supporters, unsurprisingly, were seen walking out of the stadium in their droves as the scoreline continued to pile on the misery - just a week after a positive result saw them draw 2-2 at home against defending champions Chelsea.
It was a day to forget for the Geordies, and rightly so too. Having started so well, they were completely obliterated by City's attacking prowess and the counter-attacking speed at which they manoeuvered was a joy to see - unless you were a Newcastle fan ofcourse.
The impending international break comes at another frustrating time for Pellegrini's men, again. The last one, disrupted their plans going into a crunch round of fixtures in September, and the same applies this time around. But, a 6-1 victory will silence their title doubters. For now, at least.