Raheem Sterling scored a hattrick in another Manchester City five star performance

Raheem Sterling scored his third hattrick of the season, making it his best season in front of goal, to inspire Manchester City to a 5-0 victory at Brighton.

The City forward got his side up and running in the 21st minute, curling an effort beyond Brighton’s goalie, Mat Ryan, before Gabriel Jesus added City’s second just before half-time.

Sterling then scored two headers, the second in bizarre fashion from a Bernardo Silva’s tap-in to take his personal goal tally to 27 for the season, his best campaign for goals in his career. Raheem Sterling has now netted six goals in his last six Premier League games.

It was the second time in a week city would score five goals in a game as they defeated Newcastle by the same scoreline a couple of days ago.

Meanwhile, a disappointing night for Brighton, who can still mathematically be relegated, leaves them eight points above the relegation places with three games left to play this season.

Manchester City who lies in second place on the Premier League standings are already assured of a Champions League berth next season and currently still in this season’s CL competition.

However, City still has a two-year European ban appeal decision coming up on Monday.

Gabriel Jesus was also able to add to his tally despite some poor finishing early in the game, and he has now hit the 20-goal mark in all competitions.

Even without the injured Sergio Aguero, there was clearly no shortage of firepower in this City side, although far tougher assignments than this one lie ahead.

“I was pleased with everything tonight – the result and the levels we reached,” Guardiola said. We are now at a good level and are ready to play the last games of the Premier League and in the Champions League.

“We’ve forgotten the Southampton result as we played incredibly well there. Football sometimes is strange. We just didn’t score there. We’re a team that create a lot of chances and this time we converted them.”

Stats and facts from the match

• Manchester City have won their last two Premier League games by 5+ goals, the first time this has happened in the Premier League since City themselves did so in three consecutive games in September 2017.
• Brighton suffered their worst home Premier League defeat since losing 5-0 to Bournemouth in April 2019.
• Since the 2015/16 season when he joined Manchester City, only Harry Kane (9) and Sergio Aguero (7) have scored more Premier League hat-tricks than Raheem Sterling (4).
• Gabriel Jesus has scored in 32 Premier League games for Man City – they have won 31 of those games and drew the other. City have now won their last 29 Premier League games when Jesus has scored.
• Brighton have lost all six of their Premier League matches against Man City, scoring just two goals and shipping 20.
• Raheem Sterling has scored 27 goals in all competitions for Manchester City this season – this is his best scoring season in his career.
• This was Graham Potter’s heaviest ever home defeat as a manager and his joint-heaviest overall, also losing 5-0 in May 2016 as Ostersunds FK manager away at GIF Sundsvall in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
• Gabriel Jesus became the third City player to reach 20 goals in all competitions this season (also Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling), with City having the most players to have scored 20 goals for a team in Europe’s top five leagues in all competitions in 2019-20.
• Riyad Mahrez has registered 13 assists in all competitions for City, with this his best tally of assists in a season in all competitions as a Premier League player.
• 17% of the goals conceded by Brighton in the Premier League this season have been against Manchester City (9/52).