Champions Manchester City maintained the pace with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League after easing to a 3-1 win at West Brom while Raheem Sterling scored the only goal in Liverpool’s win at Burnley on Boxing Day.

Man. City went into the match at The Hawthorns still without a fit first-team striker and six points behind Chelsea, that had won in the early kick-off against West Ham United.

The absence of Sergio Agüero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic along with poor weather condition at the venue however did not stop Manuel Pellegrini’s side from easing to a 3-0 lead by half-time.

A defensive mix-up allowed Fernando to bundle home City’s opening goal with an overhead kick in the eighth minute, capitalising on West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster’s failure to properly deal with a cross into the area.

It was soon 2-0 for City as Yaya Toure slotted in from the penalty spot five minutes later after former teammate Joleon Lescott hacked David Silva down in the area.

Saido Berahino shot wide as the Baggies vaguely looked a threat, with Silva further burtressing City’s quality over their hosts with the third just after the half-hour mark, slotting into the bottom corner as the rain came down hard.

By the time both teams showed up for the second half, rain had made way for snow which prompted the use of the yellow ball and ultimately slowed the pace of the match as players moved with great caution.

Berahino again wasted a good chance for West Brom but a consolation goal came with three minutes to go, as City keeper Joe Hart’s fumbled save went in off Nigerian striker Brown Ideye.

The result was City’s seventh on the trot in the league and ninth in all competitions, putting Pellegrini’s men on 42 points after 18 matches, three points behind Chelsea.

Elsewhere on Boxing Day, Liverpool made it two wins from its last three matches courtesy of Sterling’s second half strike – his third goal in as many matches – in the 1-0 win at relegation threatened Burnley.

Tottenham Hotspur meanwhile overcame bottom club Leicester City 2-1 in another match, with Harry Kane and Cristian Eriksen with a freekick scoring for Spurs either side of Leonardo Ulloa’s seventh league goal for Leicester.