Michael Owen believes Manchester City's thrashing of Leicester is a "warning shot" to the Premier League after the Blues stretched their lead at the top to six points.
The Blues raced to a four-goal first-half lead before Brendan Rodgers' side caused a scare with a 20-minute second-half fightback.
City restored the cushion with goals from Aymeric Laporte and a second from Raheem Sterling, late on.
Pep Guardiola's side continued their ruthless streak as they made it nine straight wins scoring 17 goals in their last three.
With Liverpool's Boxing Day clash with Leeds United postponed, City had an opportunity to bridge the gap at the top and they did just that in an emphatic fashion.
Kevin de Bruyne started the rout after just five minutes before three goals in 11 minutes from Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan and Sterling gave the hosts a seemingly unassailable lead.
The Foxes bit back and added an edge to the clash with three quick-fire goals of their own.
"What team would go to the Etihad and score three goals and then still expect to lose?" Owen said speaking to the Premier League.
"City can do that to you, they're absolutely flying, got loads of quality going forward and that's with a squad that have still got a few players out at the minute.
"It's a warning shot for the rest of the Premier League."
The title race continues to heat up as Romelu Lukaku fired Chelsea back in contention after a blip saw them draw back-to-back games against Everton and Wolves.
City will be looking to get a stronger foothold in their ambitions to retain the Premier League title when they visit Brentford on Wednesday.
By that time, Jurgen Klopp's side would have played with the Blues hoping to restore their six-point lead or potentially extend it to nine points should they beat Thomas Frank's side.
We’ve teamed up with LiveScore to invite fans to vote for their favourite results - the games which were much more than a score. Vote for the match that mattered to you here.
