Manchester United's draw with Tottenham on Friday night moves Manchester City one step closer to ticking off one of Pep Guardiola's remaining ambitions for the season.
The City boss long ago acknowledged that the Premier League title race was over, but is keen to box off qualification for next season's Champions League to make sure that the Blues get to play in the competition should their two-year ban be overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"The first two games against Arsenal and Burnley are so important to get our points to reassure our qualification for (the Champions League) next season as quickly as possible," said Guardiola.
"The Premier League is done with Liverpool, there are six or seven teams fighting for qualification for the Champions League. It’s like a title, we have played for four titles this season plus another one. We have 15 points clear from fifth, it was a good sign to beat Arsenal."
United's failure to take all three points from their game with Tottenham leaves them in fifth place on 46 points after 30 games, as opposed to City on 60 points after 29.
That means that even if United do not drop any more points City can now confirm qualification for next season's Champions League on July 5 with five matches to spare by winning their next four matches.
The match between United and Sheffield United next Wednesday throws up the possibility of more dropped points and a change in fifth place, which could allow the Blues to wrap up a top-four spot even sooner.
