Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 3-0 victory over Wigan Athletic on Saturday while fellow title hopefuls Chelsea won 2-1 at Sunderland. Argentina forward Aguero took his tally to six goals in four games with a first-half strike and two after the break in a one-sided game in Manchester where the scoreline could have been much worse for the visitors.
"Sergio is a fantastic striker, he is an incredible player, he is young, he scored three fantastic goals. He has scored always in his career and I hope it can continue here," City manager Roberto Mancini told Sky Sports. Captain John Terry opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 18th minute before Daniel Sturridge, picked ahead of misfiring Fernando Torres, doubled the lead with a cheeky backheel in the second half while Sunderland scored late to set up a nervy end.
Arsenal finally enjoyed some good fortune after a bad start to the season when a blunder by Swansea City goalkeeper Michel Vorm handed Andrei Arshavin a 40th-minute winner in a 1-0 victory at the Emirates stadium. Liverpool's unbeaten start came to a halt after they lost 1-0 at Stoke City while Tottenham Hotspur won 2-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers helped by a goal from debutant Emmanuel Adebayor and Everton drew 2-2 at home to Aston Villa.
Champions Manchester United make the short trip to Bolton Wanderers later on Saturday, looking to match City's 100 percent start to the season. City have now scored 15 goals in their opening four games, displaying a more attacking brand of soccer than last season when they were often criticised by fans for a conservative approach.
They took just 13 minutes to get off the mark against Wigan with David Silva and Carlos Tevez combining well to put Aguero through. Tevez, stripped of the captaincy this week, then scuffed a 19th-minute penalty, Micah Richards hit the underside of the crossbar and Aguero fired just inches wide from the edge of the box as the chances rained in for City.
They had to wait until the 63rd minute to add to the score when substitute Samir Nasri, playing with broken finger, put Aguero through with his first touch of the ball and the Argentine slipped the ball in easily. Six minutes later Aguero completed his hat-trick when he tucked in a through ball from Silva to give his side plenty of confidence before they make their Champions League debut at home to Napoli on Wednesday.
Fellow Champions League competitors Chelsea also gave themselves a boost with Terry sidefooting in after the lively Juan Mata had hit the post. Sturridge's goal came when he was being chased down by defender Wes Brown and keeper Simon Mignolet but he pulled a trick out of the bag by backheeling the ball in off the post.
They held on after Sunderland pulled one back in stoppage time though Ji Dong-won. North London will be a happier place than of late after Arsenal recorded their first win of the season thanks to the stroke of luck that has been eluding them so far in a campaign marred by injuries, suspensions and departures of key players.