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Summary Manchester City beat Aston Villa 4-1 to move two points clear of city rival Manchester United.
Manchester City dismissed Aston Villa 4-1 on Saturday to move two points clear of city rival Manchester United at the top of the Premier League after the defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Liverpool.Mario Balotelli scored in the first half before Adam Johnson, Vincent Kompany and James Milner added goals after the break as City improved to 22 points two clear of United.With injured Argentina striker Sergio Aguero missing, Balotelli scored for the fourth consecutive game with an impressive overhead bicycle kick as City shrugged off the drama surrounding Carlos Tevezs future, while Edin Dzeko was confined to the bench for the second straight match.Stephen Warnock scored a consolation goal for Villa as City conceded for the first time this season at Eastlands, where the club knew a victory would take it top with United held in one of Englands top derbies.The capacity 45,065 crowd at Anfield included two-time NBA MVP LeBron James, who watched Liverpool play live for the first time since becoming a minority owner of the club.James did well not to nod off in a first half when chances were sparse as United manager Alex Ferguson left Wayne Rooney out with the England striker devastated by a three-match Euro 2012 ban for kicking out at a Montenegro opponent in a 2-2 draw earlier this week.Steven Gerrard making his first start in seven months scored from a 68th-minute free kick before Rooney and Nani came off the bench to spur United. Javier Hernandez rescued a point with his 81st-minute header.City leads the league with 22 points from eight matches while United has 20. Chelsea stayed third and three points behind the leaders with a 3-1 win over Everton.
