Manchester City relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers from the Premier League and moved to within three points of leader Manchester United by winning 2-0 at Molineux on Sunday.
United's 4-4 draw at home to Everton hours earlier gave City the chance to put the title race in its own hands once again and it didn't pass up the opportunity.
Sergio Aguero scored a well-taken opener in the 27th minute and after City weathered some Wolves pressure at the start of the second half, Samir Nasri made the points safe in the 74th.
The two Manchester clubs meet at the Etihad Stadium on April 30, a home match City may have to win if the club is to end its 44-year wait for the league title.
City manager Roberto Mancini has declared for the past two weeks that the title race is over after a recent blip saw the longtime leaders fall five points behind United, but it is all to play for now.
''United is at the top, they have three more points and after the derby they have two easy games (Swansea and Sunderland),'' said Mancini, downplaying his team's chances of toppling the 19-time champions. ''I don't think they have pressure because they are used to it every year. For us, it's different because it's the first time.''
The initiative was handed to City after United's unexpected result against Everton and they handled it well against a side that had to win to keep alive its faint hopes of surviving relegation.
Aguero had Gael Clichy to thank for his goal, the France left back curling over a fine cross that the Argentina striker controlled before sidefooting past goalkeeper Dorus de Vries from 10 yards (meters).
City was far from convincing after taking the lead, with Wolves piling forward in search of goals without genuinely testing visiting goalkeeper Joe Hart.
And there was a sense of relief among City's players when Nasri secured victory, running onto a pass from Carlos Tevez and finding the corner of the net with a low finish.
''It was nice Everton took some points but we have to concentrate on our games now,'' said City defender Joleon Lescott, who used to play for Wolves.
Relegated despite having three matches left, Wolves have imploded since the turn of the year with just one win - against Queens Park Rangers in February - in its last 21 games.
''It's a really emotional, really raw day - not just for myself, but the staff, players, supporters, everyone connected with the club,'' said interim manager Terry Connor.
