Villa’s 1st MLS hat trick helps City edge Red Bulls in derby

Villa equalized in the 72nd when he ran from halfway and turned the defence around before firing a right-foot strike between Luis Robles and the near post (Photo by Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA,CC BY 2.0)

NEW YORK—  David Villa produced his first MLS hat trick to help City FC to a comeback 3-2 win over the Red Bulls in the New York derby on Sunday night.

Villa opened the scoring in the 28th minute before the Red Bulls hit back to take the lead after goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips in the 41st and 64th minutes.

Villa equalized in the 72nd when he ran from halfway and turned the defence around before firing a right-foot strike between Luis Robles and the near post.

The high-profile Spaniard, who had only scored once in seven previous New York derbies, then clinched the win from the penalty spot three minutes leader to move atop the MLS Golden Boot race with 17 goals this season.

In other games, Jacob Peterson scored in stoppage time to secure a 1-1 draw for Atlanta United against the Western Conference-leading Sporting Kansas City and the Portland Timbers had a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Peterson, who went on for Julian Gressel in the 67th minute, ran onto loose ball after Matt Besler’s attempted clearance was deflected into the centre of the box and blasted a left-footer past a sliding Tim Melia a minute into injury time.

Kansas City, which extended its unbeaten streak to nine MLS games, had taken the lead on the hour mark when Benny Feilhaber converted from the penalty spot.