London, Oct 27 (IANS) Manchester City topped Aston Villa 3-0 on the strength of goals by Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan in Premier League action.

Sterling extended his form as he opened the scoring just 22 seconds into the second half on Saturday night, having notched a hat-trick in City's 5-1 win over Atalanta at a UEFA Champions League midweek clash.

Then, De Bruyne doubled the score in the 65th minute on a cross that found the back of the net, reports Efe news.

Gündogan rounded off the victory in the 70th minute.

With the victory, City recovered the second spot in the Premier League table from Leicester City, who beat Southampton away from home 9-0 on Friday.

City temporarily closes the gap with leader Liverpool to three points, with the Reds hosting Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

--IANS kk/dpb