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Mario Balotelli of Manchester City competes with Jonas Gutierrez of Newcastle United during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at the City of Manchester Stadium on November 19, 2011 in Manchester, England.

Free-scoring Manchester City maintained its grip at the top of the English Premier League with a 3-1 home win over Newcastle United on Saturday to take its goal tally to 42 from 12 games.

Mario Balotelli and Sergio Aguero scored penalties and Micah Richards was also on target to condemn third-placed Newcastle to its first defeat of the season and leave City as the only unbeaten side in the top flight.

City has 34 points from a possible 36 this season and has piled up a staggering goal difference of 31 to lead second-placed Manchester United by five points.

The champion did enough to earn a 1-0 victory at Swansea City in the late kickoff - its third consecutive one-goal win since its 1-6 drubbing by City at Old Trafford.

Javier Hernandez scored the only goal in the 11th minute in south Wales from a cross by Welshman Ryan Giggs to inflict a first home defeat on the Premier League newcomer.

Arsenal maintained its improvement with a fifth consecutive league victory thanks to Robin van Persie's double in a 2-1 win at Norwich City, which moved the London club above Liverpool into sixth with 22 points.

Liverpool (19 points) was facing fourth-placed Chelsea (22) yesterday, with Tottenham Hotspur (22), which is fifth, at home to eighth-placed Aston Villa today.

Bottom club Wigan Athletic ended a run of eight successive league defeats in a 3-3 home draw with fellow strugglers Blackburn Rovers, who equalized with an injury-time penalty despite playing most of the second half with 10 men.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez labeled Blackburn's second goal "scandalous" after Rovers forward Yakubu appeared to use his hand to restart play from a corner.

Elsewhere, it was: West Bromwich Albion 2, Bolton Wanderers 1; Everton 2, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1; Queens Park Rangers 3, Stoke City 2; and Sunderland 0, Fulham 0.

Averaging exactly 3 1/2 goals per game even without last season's top scorer Carlos Tevez, who is still to return from his unauthorized trip back to his native Argentina, City's attacking strength was too much for a Newcastle defense that was the sturdiest in the league.

Balotelli's penalty in the 41st came after Ryan Taylor was adjudged to have handled and the left back was at fault for Richards' goal, his failure to cut out Aguero's pass allowing the City defender to finish left-footed.

Hatem Ben Arfa and Danny Guthrie squandered glorious chances for Newcastle before Aguero made the game safe in the 71st, converting from the spot for his 10th goal of the season after Richards was hauled down by Ben Arfa.

Dan Gosling's goal was a last-minute consolation for Newcastle, whose 11-match unbeaten run had surprised pundits who largely predicted a season of struggle for Alan Pardew's team after the sale of many of its star players over the past 12 months.

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