Manchester City opened up an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Brentford on Wednesday.
Phil Foden marked his return to the Manchester City side by scoring the only goal.
The win was City’s 10th in a row and leaves them in a commanding position at the top. The previous two occasions City rounded off December in first place in the Premier League – in 2011-12 and 2017-18 – they went on to win the title.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said: “There are 54 points to play for.
“All of you, thank you for your nice words because we win but I am not going to believe any words you say about it is already done or expected because Chelsea and Liverpool are more than exceptional. One is champions of Europe and the other has been our big rivals over the years.
“The distance is not because they drop points but because we win 10 games in a row.”
The result means Brentford remain in 14th position on 20 points from their 18 games, while City head to Arsenal at the Emirates for the early kick-off on New Year’s Day knowing they could establish a daunting 11-point lead at the top at the halfway stage.
