Manchester City have raced into a 3-0 half-time lead over Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League, thanks to a Sandro own goal and strikes from Jesus Navas and Sergio Aguero.
With just 14 seconds on the clock, the home side went ahead. Hugo Lloris scuffed his clearance into the path of Aguero, and while the French goalkeeper parried the initial shot away, Navas followed up to dink a finish over the head of Lloris and into the back of the net via the far post.
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Spurs almost hit back within five minutes when Kyle Walker's fizzed cross picked out Erik Lamela at the far post, but the winger saw his shot cleared off the line by Martin Demichelis.
City continued to look potent in attack, and Aguero combined well with Alvaro Negredo in the seventh minute, but Lloris stood up tall to grab the former's attempt at a delicate chip.
Spurs then had an appeal for a penalty waved away as Paulinho went down under a Yaya Toure challenge, while Samir Nasri felt aggrieved not to win a penalty at the other end.
Sandro entered the referee's book for niggling at the heels of Aguero as the forward looked to break away down the left channel and the Brazilian midfielder then received treatment for illness.
The 24-year-old's afternoon went from bad to worse when he inadvertently doubled City's lead in the 34th minute.
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Nasri found space on the left wing and picked out an unmarked Aguero inside the box. The Argentine's shot was saved by Lloris, but the ball fell to Negredo, whose acrobatic volley deflected off both Younes Kaboul and Sandro before rolling into the net.
Jan Vertonghen became the second Spurs player to enter the book as the away side became frustrated, and Aguero made it 3-0 four minutes before half time with a controlled, left-footed finish from Navas's low cross.
Kristian Johnson
