Manchester City's midfield genius Kevin De Bruyne has scored four goals in a 5-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to put his team in a commanding position to retain the Premier League, with two games remaining.
The Belgian put the game to bed with a hat-trick in a devastating 18-minute spell in the first half, before notching a fourth after the break, as the away fans alternated between chanting "Kevin De Bruyne" and "Champions of England".
The win leaves Pep Guardiola's side top on 89 points, three ahead of Liverpool, whom they also lead on goal difference, with the title now firmly in their sights.
A second consecutive Premier League title would relieve disappointment at their Champions League exit, after City fell in the semis and Liverpool reached the final.
At Molineux, De Bruyne scored the third earliest hat-trick in Premier League history with a sumptuously placed finish in the seventh minute, a clever follow-up to a rebound in the 16th and a curler from the edge of the box in the 24th.
Wolves had briefly threatened an upset, when Leander Dendoncker made it 1-1, before the De Bruyne show rolled on. He scored a fourth from close range in the 60th minute, before teammate Raheem Sterling completed another easy win for City with his 84th-minute goal.
Wolves stayed in eighth position on 50 points.
Meenwhile, Leeds United edged closer to relegation, after goals from Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku earned Chelsea a comfortable 3-0 victory over their 10-man hosts.
The fixture was important for both teams, with Chelsea needing five more points to seal a top-four finish before their trip north, while Leeds' top-flight status remains in the balance.
The hosts could not have got off to a worse start, as Mount fired Chelsea in front inside four minutes, before a reckless challenge from Daniel James saw him sent off 20 minutes later, leaving Leeds with a mountain to climb.
There only looked like being one winner from that moment on, with Chelsea putting the game to bed in the 54th minute, as American forward Pulisic slotted home from the edge of the area, before Lukaku hammered in a late third to seal victory.
A third successive league loss for Leeds means they stay in the bottom three on 34 points from 36 matches, level with 17th-placed Burnley, who have a game in hand, making Monday's (NZ time) clash with Brighton & Hove Albion pivotal for Jesse Marsch's side.
Chelsea's first win in four league games moved Thomas Tuchel's third-placed team onto 70 points from 36 matches, four clear of Arsenal in fourth and eight clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.
Reuters
