City must cross the Bridge to keep Premier League dream alive

Three points at the Bridge are a must for Manuel Pellegrini

If Manchester City don't leave Stamford Bridge with all three points, the title race may just about be over.

Arsenal's victory at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday was hailed as a decisive moment for Arsene Wenger's team.

So often the plaything of their top four rivals on such days, the Gunners finally stood up and ensured they were counted.

It was a momentous afternoon for Arsenal and the result leaves Manchester City with their backs against the wall in the title race once again.

The hard work of early December has largely been undone and Manuel Pellegrini must take his side to leaders Chelsea in their next league game knowing that defeat would all but hand the title to the Blues.

It seems scarcely believable that this wobble for City began on December 28 when they squandered a two-goal half-time cushion at home to Burnley, but that is exactly the case.

Sean Dyche's Clarets showed grit and determination in the face of a seemingly impossible task and incredibly left Manchester with a share of the spoils in a game that City had dominated for long spells.

From there things have gone off the rails.

A laboured home victory over Sunderland on New Year's Day was followed by a fortuitous FA Cup win against Sheffield Wednesday.

Fernandinho's goal 15 minutes from time at Goodison Park should have been the one that settled City but they were unable to hold their lead and the damage was compounded when Arsenal showed up on Sunday with a new found resilience.

So deep is the hole that City have worked themselves into that Pellegrini was the first to admit only a victory at Stamford Bridge will extricate the champions from this self-inflicted mess.

The Chilean railed against the usual brand of manager-speak and declared his team cannot leave the league leaders with anything but maximum points.

"The game we play at Stamford Bridge is a very important game. We must close the gap to two points," Pellegrini said after Arsenal inflicted a fourth home defeat of the season in all competitions on his team.

"It's very important to win the next game against Chelsea."

It will be very interesting between now and January 31 to note whether Pellegrini attempts to back track on those post-game sentiments - or what he will say should City fail to condemn Chelsea to their first home loss of the season.

Jose Mourinho's side were rocking in the wake of their 5-3 loss at Spurs to begin 2015.

The eight-point lead they had assembled through their blistering start to the season was gone and momentum had appeared to be shifting towards the champions.

Now, Chelsea have straightened themselves out. Since losing at White Hart Lane they have scored ten times in three games and conceded nothing.

Diego Costa is firing on all cylinders and at Swansea on Saturday we saw - arguably for the first time this season - a ruthless side to Chelsea as they crushed Garry Monk's team inside 40 minutes.

Mourinho has insisted all along that January will be a quiet period for Chelsea. The same cannot be said of City.

Yaya Toure's raw power was painfully missing as City toiled against Arsenal and he is unlikely to return from the African Nations in time for the pivotal Stamford Bridge showdown.

Samir Nasri has been ruled out injured at precisely the wrong time and too much is now expected of David Silva.

Arsenal were effective in limiting the impact of the Spaniard on Sunday and there can be no doubt that Mourinho will be alive to his threat in two weeks.

Will Pellegrini be forced to turn to 36-year-old Frank Lampard on his old stomping ground?

Like Toure, big-money January recruit Wilfried Bony will be unavailable for the clash with Chelsea. Pellegrini is going to need something special from Sergio Aguero if he is to secure the three points he has identified as the only acceptable outcome.

Brilliant as the Argentine was earlier in the season, there were signs of rust against Arsenal as he comes back from another injury lay-off.

City have come back from eight points down before, but they are not likely to do it a second time.

The clash of the Premier League's top two on the last day of January is certain to be pivotal but by the time it rolls around the Man City boss may have realised that leaving West London with the status quo intact will represent a decent evening's work.