Saracens kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions Cup knock-out phase after demolishing Northampton 62-14 at Allianz Park.
For the third time this season the reigning champions posted 50 points against their Aviva Premiership rivals, who saw their mini-revival grind to a halt a week after humbling Clermont.
The bonus-point win sees Saracens finish second in Pool 2 and they will progress to the quarter-finals if they finish among the three best runners-up when the final round of group matches is completed.
Desperate to preserve their dream of winning a third successive European title, they did everything possible to stay in contention by amassing seven tries against feeble opponents and scoring 27 points through the boot of Owen Farrell.
Apart from the first quarter, Northampton were never in the hunt for a second win of a dismal group campaign. Instead, they leaked their highest number of points in a European game.
A rare mistake by Alex Goode was pounced on by Cobus Reinach as Saints made a try-scoring start.
Harry Mallinder's chip was spilt forward by Goode just outside the 22 and Reinach scooped the ball up before plotting a mazy path over whitewash.
It set the tone for the first quarter as tries were scored in quick success at each end, Saracens using forward drives after snatching Saints line-out ball to sweep them within inches of the line where Mako Vunipola was able to gather and touch down.
Northampton's build-up for their response was precise and bold, but was also assisted by some weak tackling until Christian Day offloaded to wing Nafi Tuitavake for an easy run-in.
The see saw continued when a charge by Harlequins-bound Nathan Earle that saw Harry Mallinder swatted aside ended with Goode strolling over.
Earle and Goode were heavily involved as Saracens secured the bonus point six minutes before half-time, racing downfield on the counter-attack until Richard Wigglesworth arrived to take the scoring pass.
The match was out of Northampton's reach by the interval as they leaked a fifth when Vincent Koch used his leg drive to force his body over moments after Jamie Gibson had been sin-binned for dragging down a maul.
Calum Clark's decision to ignore an overlap cost Saracens a sixth try, but it followed soon enough when pinpoint handling from the three-quarters sent Sean Maitland racing into the corner.
The 50-point mark was broken when Tonga number eight Sione Vailanu, who was making his club debut as a replacement, powered over from the back of a scrum before Farrell landed two late penalties to improve the points difference.
