Emmanuel Adebyaor's hat trick in Manchester City's 3-1 victory over Lech Poznan helped to put the English side clear at the top of Europa League Group A on Thursday.
The Togo striker ended his goal drought this season with two well-taken finishes in the first half to put City 2-0 ahead by halftime.
Joel Tshibamba reduced the Polish champion's deficit by slotting home a shot on the turn five minutes into the second half but Adebayor made the game safe by sidefooting in David Silva's cross in the 73rd.
City ended Lech's unbeaten start to the group and climbed to the summit on seven points from three games.
It was a welcome return to form for Adebayor, whose first-team opportunities have been limited this season.
The striker, who is behind Carlos Tevez in the list of strikers at Eastlands, opened the scoring in the 13th minute by swivelling around his marker after collecting a pass by Patrick Vieira and stroking his finish into the bottom corner.
Adebayor then headed Silva's left-wing cross into the same corner in the 25th to give City some daylight as Lech continued to give the host plenty of room to play.
The Polish side started the second half well and deservedly got on the scoresheet when Tshibamba capitalized on some shoddy defending by City to score from eight yards (meters).
The striker could easily have equalized in the 70th but blazed over when one-on-one with City goalkeeper Joe Hart and his frustration was compounded when Adebayor completed his hat trick, furthering his claims for a starting place in Sunday's Premier League match against former club Arsenal.
England winger Adam Johnson almost added more gloss to the scoreline but his curling shot after a mazy run crashed against the bar and to safety.
