Manchester City replaced Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win at Fulham on Saturday afternoon, with Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva on target.
The pair each got a goal and an assist at Craven Cottage - with Aguero creating the opener for Bernardo in only the fifth minute before they reversed roles for City's second in the 27th minute.
However, Fulham were the architects of their own downfall with both of City's goals coming off the back of individual errors by the hosts.
The gulf in class between the two teams was clear throughout and, with the victory, City now find themselves sitting one point above Liverpool, who entertain Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, while Fulham moved ever nearer to relegation after succumbing to their eighth straight top-flight loss.
Despite an improvement in performances, though not results, under Scott Parker's leadership, Fulham knew that to have any chance of stunning the champions they couldn't afford to make mistakes on Saturday.
But knowing and doing are two different things and, after just five minutes, Fulham defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah made an error which proved costly for the hosts.
The on-loan Manchester United full-back inexplicably passed the ball straight to Kevin De Bruyne, who sent it to Aguero. The striker then picked out the incoming Bernardo, whose subsequent fierce, low effort flew past Sergio Rico and into the back of the net.
There were questions in the aftermath of the goal whether Aguero, who was in an offside position, had interfered with play by blocking Rico's line of vision.
But with Video Assistant Referee (VAR) not in use, the goal stood and it wasn't long before the visitors scored another.
This time, there was no doubt about the validity of the goal - although, once again, it was inadvertently created by a Fulham player.
Joe Bryan was the culprit after conceding possession to Bernardo, whose pass found Aguero - who needed only lift the ball over Rico to double City's advantage.
The goal had come at the worst possible time for Fulham, who had enjoyed some positive, if brief, moments on the ball. Indeed, their best chance to score in the first half had arrived moments before City's second when Ryan Babel headed a free-kick wide.
Bryan had also threatened when he fizzed a ball into the box, which had appeared to be a cross but ended up only narrowly missing the far corner of the net by inches - which elicited applause from the Fulham fans.
But those chances were too few for a nervous Fulham side to take advantage of, and City could have made it 3-0 when Raheem Sterling's curling effort was parried clear by Rico.
Despite the doom and gloom of their situation, the Fulham fans took solace in the spring sunshine when Nicolas Otamendi somehow contrived to sky his shot so high up into the air that it landed on the roof of the Putney End.
It was one of the few lighthearted moments for the home supporters, who know that relegation is just around the corner while City know that their quest for a quadruple remains alive with what ended up being a comfortable win in London.
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