Manchester City have won their last 12 Premier League games and have further extended their lead at the top of the table this weekend, but defender Aymeric Laporte has hinted they are still not getting the credit they deserve.
City went into the clash against second-placed Chelsea 10 points clear at the league summit, with the 1-0 victory against Thomas Tuchel's side extending that gap 13 points.
Liverpool can cut the deficit at the top to eight points if they win their games in hand, and are now the most likely side to catch City.
Key to City's double-figures lead has been their 12-game winning run, while Chelsea and Liverpool have faltered, and both Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp have hinted that luck with Covid cases and injuries have been factors in that lead growing.
However, speaking after the Chelsea win, Laporte has suggested City deserve more credit for putting together their remarkable 12-game run regardless of the circumstances.
He said: "It is something I appreciate when people say it because you don’t realise the job we are doing. It is amazing and something that happens very few times.
"We have to be happy because of that and try to keep going as we have done in the last month as it is something huge for us.”
After the Chelsea win, Pep Guardiola and City players were keen to play down their lead, emphasising the need to stay focused and ensure complacency doesn't creep into their performances.
While Laporte echoes that approach, he admitted that City now have the title firmly in their sights, adding: "We have to stay focused on our game, every single game. We will do our best for our objectives and all of us know what our objectives are.
"We have to work hard to do these kinds of performances. We are focused on our games and our team. We just try to do our best and we have had so many changes in the last few months. Everything is good for us, so we have to keep going in the same way.
"It is never over but today’s win is very important for us in the race for the title. We have many games in front of us, so we have to stay like we have in the last few weeks and this is our target.
"We know the difficulty of reaching the title, but I think we are able to do it. We have to do exactly what we did today. Stay focused, fight for every single ball as if it was the last one and this is our target, to reach our fourth Premier League trophy in five years.”
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