Manchester City secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over West Ham United to move seven points clear in the race for Champions League qualification.
James Collins's comical own goal after 18 minutes helped them into a 1-0 lead at Eastlands following a sloppy start by the visitors.
Sergio Aguero then started and finished a counter-attack on 36 minutes to give them a cushion, and it proved enough following a goalless second half.
Here, Sports Mole reviews how the game was won.
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Match statistics
MANCHESTER CITY
Shots: 18
On target: 3
Possession: 69%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 10
WEST HAM UNITED
Shots: 9
On target: 3
Possession: 31%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 6
Was the result fair?
Certainly. Stats can occasionally paint an unfair picture of games, but this was not one of those times. City were utterly dominant throughout against a West Ham side who only found a sense of adventure when the game was beyond them.
Manchester City's performance
Having come into the encounter 15 points behind leaders Chelsea with six games to play, there was a risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater for the reigning Premier League champions after seeing their title bid crumble following back-to-back defeats.
From this point on, it was all about Champions League qualification for City, but Manuel Pellegrini's side shelved the disappointments surrounding their failed title defence and started off brilliantly against their London counterparts this afternoon.
They pressed West Ham well, forcing them into a host of errors, and it ultimately paid off when Jesus Navas pressured Aaron Cresswell following Adrian's kick, before picking his pocket and galloping down the right flank. With Aguero unmarked, the Spaniard curled in a fine ball which Collins deflected over his goalkeeper and into the net on 18 minutes.
The hosts weathered what was light drizzle of West Ham pressure before establishing a cushion when Aguero capitalised on a Stewart Downing error to set up a lightning-quick counter-attack that he started and finished when Navas unselfishly squared it back to him. It was a fine goal and you need only have seen Pellegrini's face afterwards to realise what it meant to him after a trying couple of weeks.
The hosts were utterly dominant from the beginning of the second half onwards, with Pellegrini's men boasting 81% possession at one point, but they laboured in their search of a third despite an abundance of half-chances. It was not vintage City in the end, but it was just what the doctor ordered following two successive defeats that left their title defence in ruins.
West Ham's performance
With Sam Allardyce not expected to be offered an extension to his contract, which expires this summer, visiting Eastlands to face an erratic Man City side represented a chance for the veteran manager to give the club's hierarchy more cause to offer him a new deal. Yet, after watching the first half, owners David Gold and David Sullivan may be less reluctant to keep Allardyce beyond this season.
Fifteen points clear of relegation and 13 adrift of the Europa League spots, Allardyce's side had very little to play for coming into this one. The limited reward on offer was reflected in a relatively sloppy opening to the clash in which the Londoners conceded possession time and time again in dangerous positions. It was a farcical first 18 minutes, culminating in a farcical own goal that saw them fall behind when Collins's botched clearance looped over the head of Adrian and into the net via the crossbar.
They grew slightly more economic in possession and it led to their first and only real chance of the half. Martin Demichelis, taking a leaf out of the Hammers' book it seems, cheaply conceded the ball as Carlton Cole galloped through on goal, but his tame effort was comfortably saved by Joe Hart. It was the first in a decent attacking spell by the Hammers, but the same deficiencies from early on appeared once more and they were two down when Aguero started and finished a swift counter-attack that came about when the Argentine picked Downing's pocket.
With only 19% of possession at one point in the second half, it could be said that Allardyce did not deliver the rousing half-time speech needed for his troops to get something out of this game. To their credit, though, the defence repelled wave after wave of attack, with Collins particularly effective. It was so impressive, in fact, that Allardyce will be bitterly disappointed that his charges were not as organised when it mattered.
The Irons finished the clash well, with substitutions Matt Jarvis and Kevin Nolan adding something extra to a lifeless attack, and the latter should have reduced the arrears but fluffed his lines in a one-on-one with Hart. It was their best spell of the contest, but it came far too late to have any influence.
The only real positive for West Ham is the fact that there are just five games left in a season that has been over for them for some time now.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Sergio Aguero: In a game with few standout performers, the best of them was arguably Aguero. The Argentine hitman was a constant menace throughout, and started and finished the counter-attack that led to the second goal. On another day, he may have ended the afternoon with a hat-trick, having seen a number of shots blocked, but he was nevertheless the best of the bunch today.
Biggest gaffe
It has to be Collins, whose unfortunate own goal sent the Citizens on their way. Navas whipped in a fantastic cross and the Welshman's botched clearance looped over Adrian and bounced into the net. It is difficult to criticise him too much for what was an incident that could happen to practically any defender, but it happened to him today.
Referee performance
Anthony Taylor had a relatively standard game as the man in the middle. However, he could, and perhaps should, have sent off Cheikhou Kouyate after elbowing David Silva, who needed treatment for no fewer than eight-and-a-half minutes. Decent game from Taylor overall, but giving Kouyate the benefit of the doubt was perhaps an error.
What next?
Manchester City: City are back here on Saturday to welcome resurgent Aston Villa.
West Ham: Meanwhile, the Londoners make the short trip across the capital to face relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers.
Shane Callaghan
