Pep Guardiola warned his Manchester City players their lead at the top is ‘nothing’ even after derby victory.
A 3-1 win against Manchester United saw the Premier League champions overtake Liverpool, who had briefly moved to the summer after beating Fulham earlier in the day.
Ominously for City’s rivals, they lead the way after playing four of the ‘big six’ – only dropping points in the 0-0 draw at Anfield last month.
Considering Riyad Mahrez missed a late penalty in that match, Guardiola’s side could have an even more daunting lead over their rivals before the season has even reached the halfway stage.
City are two points clear of Liverpool and four ahead of Chelsea, who are the only one of their challengers they are still to face.
But Guardiola said: “Two points, four points from Chelsea is nothing.
“Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, they have numbers to be champion. Not just Man City.
“The numbers for Liverpool are to be champions of the Premier League, the numbers from Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal… they have numbers to be champions.
“We are just two points in front, it’s nothing. It’s true, last season we didn’t get points at Anfield, we drew. Last season we lost here (against United), we won. So it’s good.
“For the contenders, four games, three away, one at home, and we got results. But at the end, the three points, the only difference is that it’s against a contender.”
City play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 8 in what looks like a crunch clash in terms of the title.
Victory against United effectively ended Jose Mourinho’s hopes of mounting a challenge, but Guardiola admitted his side felt the nerves after their dramatic defeat in April, which postponed their title celebrations.
“I feel when I watch my team we felt the pressure,” he said. “They wanted to do well in the derby, that’s normal.
“We concede one goal, and always it’s inevitable to think about last season what happened again in that situation.”
