Goals from Raheem Sterling, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan secured a 3-0 win for Manchester City against Aston Villa.
Silva, making a club-record 267th Premier League start, dragged his shot wide with the best chance of a frustrating first half for the champions.
But it took just 22 seconds after the break for Gabriel Jesus' header to ricochet into the path of Sterling, who slotted underneath Tom Heaton.
It was 2-0 after 65 minutes as De Bruyne’s inswinging cross was met by the faintest of touches from Silva; a goal awarded to the Spaniard by the Goal Accreditation Panel.
Gundogan's low strike on 70 minutes made it 3-0 before Fernandinho was sent off late on as he received a second yellow card.
Man City's third consecutive victory moves them three points behind Liverpool ahead of the leaders' Sunday match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa's first loss in three drops them to 14th with 11 points, half of City's total.
See: Man City report | Aston Villa report
Next fixtures
Man City: 2 Nov v Southampton (H)
Aston Villa: 2 Nov v Liverpool (H)
Referee: Graham Scott. Assistants: Neil Davies, Harry Lennard. Fourth official: Anthony Taylor. VAR: Jonathan Moss. Assistant VAR: Andy Halliday.
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