Manchester City narrowed the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to six points with a comfortable 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Eastlands on Monday.
Pablo Zabaleta, Sergio Aguero and Martin Demichelis all scored for City as three different Argentinian players netted in a Premier League match for the first time.
West Brom showed brief moments of skills and had pulled the score back to 2-1 through Graham Dorrans, but ultimately City had too much quality.
City will close further on Liverpool should they win their game in hand, although they still need the Merseyside club to drop points in their remaining three games if they are to take the title themselves.
“Job done and we had some very good starts in the game, so we’ll take the positives out of it and take it with us into the next four games,” City captain Vincent Kompany told Sky Sports.
And the Belgian defender said City had it in them to repeat their form of two seasons ago, when they won the title in the closing minutes of the season.
“I’m as motivated as anyone,” he said. “We can still remember what happened for us two years ago, so it’s kind of something where we take motivation out of it.”
Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, responded to his side’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland with three changes as Gael Clichy, David Silva and Edin Dzeko came in for Aleksandar Kolarov, James Milner and Alvaro Negredo respectively.
The hosts were also still without influential midfielder Yaya Toure, who is recovering from a groin injury, while West Brom recalled Craig Dawson and Billy Jones to their defence.
But it did not take a much more fluid City side long to assert their authority in the game and they took the lead in the third minute with a header from right-back Zabaleta.
A weak header from West Brom defender Liam Ridgewell fell to Aguero who struck a powerful first-time volley which was parried by Ben Foster, but Zabaleta anticipated the rebound to head into the vacant net.
Aguero lifted a shot over the crossbar moments later when he got on the end of a cross from Samir Nasri, but it was not long until the Argentina striker got his name on the scoresheet.
West Brom’s defence backed off Aguero in the 10th minute and were punished as he arrowed a low shot into the corner of the net from just outside the penalty area.
The visitors pulled a goal back six minutes later through Dorrans with a brilliant goal on the counter-attack after a breakdown in communication between Fernandinho and Silva at a free-kick in West Brom’s half.
Dorrans received the ball on the edge of the box from Matej Vydra and expertly lifted it over City left-back Clichy with his right foot before he spectacularly volleyed past goalkeeper Joe Hart with his left.
City always looked more likely to add a third goal before the interval and it duly arrived from a Nasri corner flicked on by Vincent Kompany into the path of Demichelis who escaped Jonas Olsson at the back post and guided the ball home.
The second half was decidedly more subdued, although City fans will nervously await updates on Spain playmaker Silva who was taken off on a stretcher with an ankle injury after an awkward tangle with Morgan Amalfitano in the 70th minute.
West Brom seemed determined to make a fist of it in the remainder of the contest and Amalfitano forced Hart to scurry across goal to keep out a fierce drive.
The Baggies, still just three points above the relegation zone, threw on Saido Berahino in an attempt to inject some energy in their play and the promising youngster gave City fans a scare when he got a toe on a curling effort from outside the area which Hart almost diverted into his own net.
James Milner had an opportunity to add a fourth for City in injury time but Foster did well to block at his near post.
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
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'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
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Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour