Manchester City have moved above Arsenal to the top of the Premier League table courtesy of a 3-0 win over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium.
West Ham, who were missing captain Declan Rice through illness, defended impressively in the first period, but Nathan Ake made the breakthrough in the 50th minute before Erling Braut Haaland took the game away from David Moyes's side 20 minutes from time.
Phil Foden then capped off an excellent second half for the Citizens when his deflected strike made it 1000 goals for the club since Pep Guardiola's appointment as head coach.
Man City have moved one point clear of the second-placed Gunners and will have the chance to go four clear on the same number of games (34) when they host Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, while West Ham remain 15th, four points clear of the relegation zone.
Julian Alvarez tested West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from distance inside the opening two minutes, and as expected, the early possession was dominated by the English champions.
Fabianski made an even better save to keep out a strike from Riyad Mahrez in the ninth minute, but West Ham were having their moments on the break, with Michail Antonio's pace and power causing problems.
Man City had another half-chance in the 24th minute when Jack Grealish delivered a dangerous cross towards Haaland at the far post, but the forward could only head over the crossbar.
Fabianski was again called into action in the 30th minute to deny Grealish, with the England international looking to squeeze one into the near post after cutting inside.
The home side came within inches of taking the lead in the 32nd minute when Rodri burst into the West Ham box before looking to squeeze one into the bottom corner, but the ball hit the inside of the post, with the Hammers surviving a dangerous moment.
John Stones then nodded wide of the post in the 35th minute, before Pablo Fornals smashed one over the crossbar down the other end, with West Ham having a half-chance late in the first period.
Man City had 80% of the possession in the first half, but an impressive defensive performance from the visitors saw the two teams enter the half-time interval all square.
West Ham's resistance was broken minutes into the restart, though, with Ake's powerful header from a Mahrez free kick proving to be too much for Fabianski, who was unable to prevent the ball from finding the back of the net.
Grealish then fired one wide of the away side's goal in the 54th minute, before Man City had two penalty shouts just before the hour, with Thilo Kehrer tackling Haaland and Angelo Ogbonna barging into Stones, but the referee was happy with both challenges and VAR agreed.
Fabianski made a smart save to keep out a curling effort from Alvarez in the 68th minute, but Man City doubled their advantage in the 70th minute through Haaland, who raced onto a pass from Grealish before expertly lifting the ball over the advancing West Ham stopper.
The goal was the Norway international's 51st in all competitions this term and his 35th in the Premier League, breaking the record in the competition for a season previously held by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer (34).
Foden then made it 3-0 to the Citizens in the latter stages, with the attacker's strike from outside the box taking a deflection off Emerson Palmieri before dropping into the back of the net.
Man City will be looking to make it 10 league wins in a row when they host Leeds on Saturday, while West Ham are next in action on Sunday, welcoming Manchester United to the London Stadium. body check tags ::
