Erling Haaland broke the Premier League single-season scoring record as Manchester City moved back to the top of the table with a 3-0 win over West Ham
David Moyes' side had made it difficult for the reigning champions at the Etihad Stadium
 It was goalless at half-time
 But Nathan Ake headed City in front early in the second before Haaland had his moment, chipping Lukasz Fabianski for his 35th of the season
The goal moved him clear of Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole as the first man to hit that mark in the Premier League era - with five games to spare too
 Substitute Phil Foden made the win even more emphatic when his deflected strike made it three late in the game
Arsenal's victory over Chelsea on the previous evening had been a reminder to Pep Guardiola's side that there was little room for complacency as they chase this Premier League title
 They are hoping it will be the first part of an historic treble for the club
This win moves them a step closer, restoring their one-point lead at the top with a game in hand
 For West Ham, a third consecutive defeat means there is work still to do to guarantee their safety
 There will be easier nights than this to claim the points they need
Moyes knew he was up against it from the outset when illness robbed him of star midfielder Declan Rice overnight, with Tomas Soucek, Nayef Aguerd and the injured Kurt Zouma also dropping out
 West Ham were only able to name five outfield substitutes
But his side succeeded in stifling City throughout the first half, condensing the space with Angelo Ogbonna heading everything away
 It was all so crowded, although Rodri did manage to wriggle through to hit the post after a one-two with Haaland
The breakthrough came early in the second half and was unusually straightforward given what had come before
 That will frustrate Moyes
 Flynn Downes fouled Jack Grealish and when Riyad Mahrez curled in the free-kick it was headed in by Ake at the far post
West Ham did push briefly, threatening the goal of Stefan Ortega, on his Premier League debut, from set-piece situations of their own
 But Haaland had his moment on the counter-attack
 Fed by Grealish, his delightful dink did for Fabianski
 The record was his
There was time for Foden to volley into the net from distance - via a deflection of Emerson Palmieri
 But the night belonged to Haaland, his team-mates lining up for a guard of honour after the game
 They will all know that there are bigger prizes ahead
Asked if the record was on his mind, Haaland told : "Yes, of course I knew about it but we tried to create the chances to score goals and it was not easy
 They came here just to defend for 90 minutes and we struggled a bit in the first half but it was an important win
"On the goal, he added: "You can see what my first thought is - to run towards the goal
 Me and Jack spoke before the game - he wanted to give me the assist for the record-breaking goal
 I knew I was going to get the ball there and I saw the keeper coming out
"It was a great ball by Jack
 When I chipped the ball it was a really perfect bounce
 I didn't think I was going to chip but the possibility was there
"It was a nice feeling, like every single goal I score
 Winning the game is also really important
 The guard of honour really hurt - they hit me hard on the back!"Speaking in the press conference after the game, Guardiola acknowledged that the guard of honour for Haaland from his team-mates had been planned beforehand
"Of course, we thought about that
 In football, when there is a special occasion, we have to show how special it is
 Today, it was Erling
 To score more than Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, top strikers, it is special
"I think he deserves it
 All the team deserves it because without the team he could not do it, but he is a special striker
 We are very pleased for him because it is a joy to be with him, to work with him, to manage him
 We are happy to have him with us
"Of course, this record will be broken sooner or later
 Maybe by him in the future, maybe by others
 But they will have to score a lot of goals because he has scored a lot
"I remember when we lost against Liverpool in the Community Shield and it was, 'He will not adapt to the Premier League
' You sometimes encourage as journalists incredible comments in advance that even ourselves, we do not know what is going to happen
"Immediately, we saw that when you provide him with the ball, he can score goals
 He can score all different situations except free-kicks - maybe in the future
 But penalties, crosses, combinations, transitions
 He is a guy who can do many, many things
 That is why he scores a lot of goals
"Today was a good example because in the first half he was not much involved because the defensive structure from West Ham was exceptional
 In the first half, we could not do it but he does not become desperate and anxious and nervous
 He is calm
"Finally, asked about Foden scoring the 1,000th goal of his time in charge of Manchester City, Guardiola said: "Yes, but unfortunately I did not score once
" He added, with a smile: "I did not have a guard of honour today but maybe next time
""The defensive structure was really good but the attacking play had to be better to cause more problems
 We caused them minimal problems, to be honest
 Remember Bayern Munich came here and got turned over
 Arsenal got turned over
 You cannot kid yourself and turn up here without defensive structure
"To concede from a set piece was galling because we had done a really good job for long periods and were going to have to do it again
 Maybe tonight, we just did not have the stature we had in other games
 It was always going to be a bit short for us
 But it was a poor one to concede against a side that can score great goals
"The second goal, we give it away in a good position