Tottenham 0 Manchester City 2
Manchester City's first Premiership win for a month, and their first away from home this year, put paid to Tottenham's hopes of a European place this afternoon.
Two slick goals in the first 20 minutes secured a well-merited win with French defender David Sommeil and Joey Barton claiming their first goals for the club.
Sommeil put City ahead in the third minute when when he headed home skipper Ali Benarbia's right wing corner.
City could have had a second but for the brilliant intervention of Casey Keller, but on 20 minutes Barton added the killer blow, pouncing on a loose ball on the edge of the Spurs box to fire home on only his third appearance for City.
Nicolas Anelka and Shaun Wright-Phillips had both missed good chances before Sommeil rose unchallenged in the six-yard box to show the strikers how it was done.
Spurs briefly looked like making a fight of it with Teddy Sheringham drawing a fine save from Peter Schmeichel after 10 minutes and then heading over three minutes later.
But City were in control and were only denied a second goal by Keller's flying save off Wright-Phillips.
The inevitable second goal arrived after Anelka forced a block from Keller. Goran Bunjevcevic cleared the loose ball only as far as Barton, who swept it into an unguarded net, the ball deflecting off Fowler on its way into the goal.
Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle gave Kazuyuki Toda his first team debut in the second half. The Japanese international midfielder was unable to turn the tide however and City should have made it three when Anelka teed up Fowler midway through the second period.
The former England forward's shot lacked any venom and Keller was able to dive to his right and smother it.