Manchester City made it seven successive wins when they beat West Ham United 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Erling Haaland scored twice while Tijjani Reijnders got the other on a day where the Blues went top of the Premier League (if only for a few hours).
After a rare season of misfortune in 2024-25, **Pep Guardiola**’s side have shown their quality so far this campaign, and are the league’s top goalscorers with 41.
But after their latest victory, Guardiola insisted his side “have to improve” if they want to regain their crown.
“We will be there”
When asked whether he is seeing signs of a title-winning team, Guardiola said: “Yeah, we will be there. If they follow me, we will be there.
“But we have to improve!”
Last term, City came third in the league - their lowest finish since Guardiola’s first campaign almost a decade ago - and lost the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.
Their torrid run of form throughout winter saw the club win just once in 13 games across all competitions.
After such a turbulent year, their manager knows that improvements have been made.
“The spirit is there, we didn’t have that last season, the aggression, the hunger - all these things and attributes that they need,” said the Catalan.
“But the next step, hopefully Rodri is back, we have to do better!”
Last month, successive defeats to Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen were followed by close calls against Leeds and Fulham.
They haven’t quite left Guardiola’s mind just yet.
“If they score to make it 2-1, West Ham would’ve scored 2-2 - I swear!” he explained.
“Listen, trust me. I’m not a magician to know the future or the past, but it would happen.”
“With the ball we have to improve”
While being the top scorers in the league, many of the plaudits this season have gone to the City defence.
New goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kept his third consecutive Premier League clean sheet against the Irons. He has been well guarded by a backline of Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Nico O’Reilly.
At the top end of the team, Haaland scored his 18th and 19th league goals - he has now scored against the Hammers 11 times in seven matches.
But Guardiola isn’t all pleased with his side’s work on the ball.
“Always I have to thank Erling for the goals, obviously,” he said.
“Defensively we are improving, I think we can visualise it. With the ball, we are (far) away!”
If only for a few hours, his City side are top of the tree - a festive gift for the fans. However, if nothing else, Guardiola is a workaholic and he knows what’s important to him.
“I said to the players, ‘I’m happy, Merry Christmas for everyone’, but it will not be enough if we don’t improve!”