MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Phil Foden scored a stunning hat-track as Manchester City crushed Aston Villa 4-1 on Wednesday to keep their hopes of retaining the Premier League title very much alive.

Arsenal climbed above Liverpool to claim top spot on 68 points with a 2-0 victory over Luton Town and City are third, level on 67 points with Liverpool who can move back to the summit with a home win over Sheffield United on Thursday.