Manchester City have made it to the summit of the Premier League table courtesy of a 5-1 demolition of Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night.
Manuel Pellegrini's side took their Premier League goal tally to 68 from 23 matches and 115 in all competitions this season as they netted four times in the second half to comfortably see off a Spurs side who were reduced to ten men just five minutes after the restart.
Sergio Aguero, who succumbed to injury in the first half, opened the scoring for City in the 15th minute when he rushed onto a through ball from David Silva to finish past Hugo Lloris before having a header brilliantly saved by the Frenchman who was under pressure early.
Michael Dawson slotted home Christian Eriksen's free-kick a little later but the goal was disallowed when he was wrongly adjudged to be offside in what was a major blow for Tottenham.
Spurs managed to hold out until half-time without conceding again but disaster struck five minutes into the second half when Danny Rose was sent off for a tackle on Edin Dzeko despite winning the ball.
Referee Andre Marriner awarded a contentious penalty to City and the result was a perfectly-placed spot-kick from Yaya Toure.
Soon enough it was 3-0 to the visitors when Dzeko volleyed home from close range after Silva's effort was glanced onto the post by Lloris as the 2011 Premier League champions threatened to run riot.
Tottenham pulled one back when Etienne Capoue netted his first goal for the club when he turned home following confusion in the area after a corner in the 59th minute.
A fourth goal for City came courtesy of Aguero's replacement Stevan Jovetic who opened his Premier League account when firing home in the 78th minute before skipper Vincent Kompany completed the rout when slotting home from close range with a minute remaining.
The victory places City a point ahead of Arsenal, dislodging them from top spot, as Spurs remain fifth but fall three points behind Liverpool in fourth.
2013/14 Barclays Premier League season scores
Tottenham: 1 (Etienne Capoue 59', red card: Danny Rose 50') Manchester City: 5 (Sergio Aguero 15', Yaya Toure (p) 51', Edin Dzeko 53', Stevan Jovetic 78', Vincent Kompany 89') White Hart Lane, London - 36,071
