Phil Foden shone in the absence of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne as the England international's hat-trick handed Manchester City a thumping 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Wednesday.
The champions responded emphatically to questions over their ability to win the biggest games to move to within one point of leaders Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
City had not beaten a side in the Premier League's top five in six attempts this season prior to the visit of fourth-placed Villa to the Etihad.
But Pep Guardiola showed faith in the depth of his squad by leaving Haaland and De Bruyne on the bench for the full 90 minutes ahead of a hectic schedule in their defence of three competitions.
Guardiola has hailed Foden as the best player in the English top-flight this season and the 23-year-old backed up his manager's words by taking his goal tally for the season to 21.
In another Wednesday game, Arsenal coasted to a 2-0 win over struggling Luton on Wednesday to dislodge Liverpool from the top of the Premier League table, once again edging ahead in a thrilling three-way title tussle.
Gunners captain Martin Odegaard opened the scoring midway through the first half and an own goal just before the break gave the much-changed home side a cushion.
The result lifts Arsenal to 68 points -- one ahead of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, who host bottom side Sheffield United on Thursday.