Sergio Aguero fired a four-goal blast as Manchester City thrashed 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in a remarkable Premier League clash featuring four penalties at Eastlands on Saturday.

Aguero was the headline act in a memorable encounter as Manuel Pellegrini's second-placed team closed the gap on Chelsea to two points ahead of the leaders' trip to Crystal Palace later on Saturday.

The Argentina forward opened the scoring in the 13th minute and then struck from the penalty spot seven minutes later after Christian Eriksen's 15th-minute equaliser.

Aguero missed a chance to seal his hat-trick before half-time when his second penalty was saved by Hugo Lloris.

Referee Jon Moss awarded the third penalty of the match in the 62nd minute when Martin Demichelis tripped Tottenham's Roberto Soldado, with replays indicating the offence took place outside the penalty area.

However, Spanish striker Soldado fluffed the chance to equalise as his spot-kick was saved by Joe Hart.

Moss gave his fourth penalty in the 68th minute when Federico Fazio pulled back Aguero, a foul that also earned the Argentine defender a red card on his Premier League debut.

Aguero, who is now City's record scorer in the Premier League era, stroked home the penalty and sealed the one-man demolition job with another clinical strike to make it four in the 75th minute.

The English league record for penalties in a single game is five awarded by referee Kelvin Morton when Crystal Palace met Brighton in March 1989.

"I'm very happy," Aguero said. "We are really happy. The (man of the match) trophy is for all the team because the team has helped me get the goals."

Aguero looked to have sustained a back injury towards the end of the match, but insisted he would be ok to feature in City's Champions League clash against CSKA Moscow in midweek.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm ready for the next game," he added.