Dominant Man City roll over Norwich 5-1

Manchester: Manchester City maintained their dominant start to the Premier League season with a 5-1 rout of Norwich on Saturday.

Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and Yaya Toure had put the league leaders comfortably ahead 3-0 by the 68th minute, before Steve Morison pulled one back with 10 minutes remaining.

Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson then added goals in the final minutes as Roberto Mancini's team recorded its 12th victory in 14 league matches.

The visitors' resistance was broken at the Etihad Stadium when Aguero prodded in his 11th goal in 13 league starts with just over half an hour gone.

Nasri produced one of his best performances since joining City from Arsenal in the offseason and added the second when Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy somehow allowed the Frenchman's free kick to beat him.

Toure added a third midway through the second half when his curling shot from the edge of the area found the corner of Ruddy's goal.

Balotelli scored from close range before Johnson added a fifth in stoppage time.

City have now scored 48 goals in 14 league games.

Norwich had come to defend in the hope that they could create something on the break and they came close to making that work in the early stages.

Their lone striker Morison made the most of a hesitant clearance from Kolo Toure, making his first Premier League start since completing a six-month doping ban for taking his wife's diet pills. Morison broke through but shot narrowly wide.

Morison went close again when Toure and Vincent Kompany collided on halfway and the striker ran through, only to be blocked by City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

But it was not long before the hosts' dominance was established with Nasri creating a string of good chances for Aguero.

The pick of the early opportunities created by the Frenchman was a well-judged cross to Aguero, who lifted the ball over the bar from around 12 yards (metres).

But the Argentina forward made no mistake in the 32nd minute when he was picked out by a fine cross from Micah Richards.

With his back to goal, Aguero spun away from the challenge of Leon Barnett and prodded a low shot through a crowd of bodies to put the home team in front.

Elliott Bennett had the opportunity to pull Norwich level two minutes after half time when Kompany and Morison missed Kyle Naughton's long ball forward.

The winger ran around Hart's challenge but went too wide to be able to get his shot on target from a narrow angle.

That failure was punished in the 51st when Ruddy allowed a crossed free kick from Nasri to beat him and find the corner of the net.

City continued to press and Ruddy produced an impressive double save from David Silva and Aguero to keep the deficit at two goals.

In the 68th minute, Yaya Toure collected a pass from Silva and curled in City's third from just inside the penalty area.

Thirteen minutes later, Morison headed in but City's victory was never in doubt and Balotelli added a fourth in the 88th minute.