And that warning has been strengthened with news that Samir Nasri is set to return against Hull on Saturday after a month out with a groin injury.
City’s draw at Stamford Bridge may have left them still five points behind Jose Mourinho’s leaders but Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho believes the upbeat performance has restored their self-belief after being held at Everton and losing back-to-back home games against Arsenal and Middlesbrough.
He said: “We wanted to win the game to close the gap but the most important thing for me was that it was our best performance for a while.
“Now we need to play like that in every game, with a solid defence.
Manchester City v Hull - Premier League Preview
“Going forward our players have quality and when they feel confidence in our defence they can create a lot of chances. We are feeling confident again and that is good everyone.
“The important thing is that we must play every match in the same way, from first minute to last, for the rest of the season.”
The important thing is that we must play every match in the same way, from first minute to last, for the rest of the season
Fernandinho says City can take encouragement from the fact they finished the game looking for a win while Chelsea were content to hold on for a point.
“We just played our way from the first minute until the last minute and didn’t change anything,” he added.
“The manager asks us to work every day in the same way – it doesn’t matter who we are playing against. We try to do it, sometimes we can and sometimes we can’t.
“If Chelsea changed their players, taking off a forward and putting on a defender, it is the way their manager thinks is the best for them. More important for me is that we played very well.”
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