- City strikes twice in 3 minutes
- Toure nabs insurance marker
- West Brom keeps struggling
A standard Pep Guardiola performance saw Manchester City essentially ensure UEFA Champions League qualification with a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
Gabiel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, and Yaya Toure helped City to a three-goal lead before Hal Robson-Kanu spoiled Wily Caballero’s clean sheet in the 87th minute.
Man City now has a three-point lead on fifth-place Arsenal, and holds a five-goal advantage in goal difference. A win or draw Sunday guarantee a places, as would anything but a big defeat and wins from Liverpool and Arsenal.
Once angling for sixth or seventh, West Brom is in ninth and could finish as low as 12th with a loss at Swansea City on Championship Sunday.
[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]
62 - Gabriel Jesus is averaging a goal/assist every 62 minutes in the PL this season, the best ratio of any player (min. 500 mins). Future. pic.twitter.com/4KrddS7J9A
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 16, 2017
[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]
De Bruyne cued Jesus up for a tap-in to open the scoring in the 27th minute, then lashed a shot home from outside the 18 to double the advantage two minutes later.
Next up was Toure, who traded passes with Sergio Aguero before capping Man City’s scoring in the 57th minute.
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]