Following a 3-0 victory over Everton, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan extended his goal-scoring streak with two more goals as Manchester City moved closer to winning the Premier League for the fifth time in six years.
After a straightforward afternoon at Goodison Park, Pep Guardiola's team now only needs a maximum of six points from their next three games to increase their hold on the title crown.
With a masterful double, one a beautiful over-the-shoulder volley and the other a curling free-kick up and over the wall, Gundogan increased his total to four goals in two games.
In the interim, Erling Haaland scored his nearly necessary goal to bring the season total to 52; the record of 63 held by former Everton center-forward Dixie Dean is still feasibly within reach.
His 36 league goals are the most in the English top flight since Southampton's Ron Davies scored 37 in 1966–1967. To further highlight his talent, if any were needed, the Norwegian international has scored 98 goals in 100 league games for former clubs Borussia Dortmund and City.
With Wednesday's finely arranged Champions League semi-final at home to Real Madrid in mind, even a City side fielding four changes—Kevin De Bruyne was one of those omitted—was hardly put to the test in claiming an 11th straight league victory and extending their unbeaten streak to 21 games.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin's injury history would have caused some concern for 17th-placed Everton, who are now depending on their neighbors Liverpool to do them a favor and keep them out of the bottom three by defeating 19th-placed Leicester on Monday.
As there are crucial games against Wolves and a final-day finish at home versus Bournemouth, the shift might have been preventative or even damage control.
The worst-case scenario would be playing those two games without the England international, who has served as a crucial focal point despite scoring just once in five games since returning from a hamstring injury two and a half months ago.
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