Guardiola calls on City to keep winning momentum going

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described the run-up to Christmas as the toughest part of the season and called on his players to continue their winning momentum in what is shaping up to be a three-way title tussle.

Guardiola’s City claimed top spot in the league for the first time this season after a dominant 3-1 victory at Watford, with their fifth straight win lifting them to 35 points — one ahead of Liverpool and two in front of Chelsea, who lost 3-2 at West Ham United.

“Today one team dropped points, next week it can be us or Liverpool. Many things can happen,” Guardiola said.

“I’m more than pleased with what the guys have done in this tough period and now comes the toughest one for the amount of games, weather, injuries. We (will) keep going with this rhythm and try to play well.

“The result can be random but consistency is the most important thing to help us be a stable team... There’s many games to come and it’s the toughest part of the season.”

City will take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday, kicking off a run of seven games in all competitions culminating on New Year’s Day.