Man City found it difficult to perform against Chelsea in the first half despite adding Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic's withdrawal.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola spoke about how 'sloppy' his Cityzens were despite beating Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The Premier League reigning champions beat Graham Potter's injury-ravaged Blues to close the gap on table-toppers Arsenal to five points.
City found it difficult to break down Chelsea in the first half - despite Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic's injury - which prompted Guardiola to make changes in the second part of the game as he brought on Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish.
Moments later, the duo combined to opening the scoring in the 63rd minute, with Mahrez finishing off a low cross from Jack Grealish.
Guardiola was happy they got the three points, but he could tell they were not even close to their best.
The Spaniard told BBC Match of the Day: "It's always difficult coming here to Stamford Bridge. We had to find our best like we were in the second half.
"In the first half, everything was sloppy, we had no rhythm when we arrived in the positions, we were not good.
"But we got better when Rico [Lewis] came in, he has the ability and talent to make our game better. Most of the players play good, but he has the ability to play good but make the others play better. As a midfield player that talent is extraordinary.
"Of course, Chelsea have a lot of absentees, top-quality injured players. Then in the first minute they lose Raheem [Sterling] so it was not easy. But they are Chelsea, you cannot expect to come here and win the game, especially the way we played in the first half. That was not good.
"Well it could be seven points, or 10 or eight, but now the gap is five points. We have to look at ourselves but I have to admit, the way they are playing, Arsenal deserves to be there. It's not just about the points, the way they are playing. Even when they lost against [Manchester] United and drew with Newcastle, the quality and the level they are playing is so good."
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