Manchester City thrashed Chelsea 3-0 at the Stamford Bridge to move six points within the reach of table leaders Arsenal as the battle for the Premier League title between the two clubs remain open.

After a goalless first half, Nico O’Reilly opened the scoring for City six minutes into the second half as he perfectly headed home a cross into the box by Rayan Cherki.

The visitors only had to wait for another six minutes to double their lead courtesy of Marc Guehi, who fired home another cross by Cherki before Jeremy Doku scored City’s third in the 68th minute after driving the ball into the box and latching it past goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. 

With one game in hand, the victory took City’s tally to 64 points this season, six adrift of Arsenal. Pep Guardiola’s side would have a chance to further reduce the gap when the two sides face each other next week. 

If City beat Arsenal in the game, the Manchester-based club can go level on points with the Gunners if they manage to win their outstanding game against Crystal Palace. 

Speaking after Sunday’s game, Doku expressed optimism that City could still win the title despite the six points gap between them and Arsenal. 

“If you win this game, it’s a big punch towards them. If you lose this game, it’s in their hands. If we win, it’s in our hands, and I prefer to have it in our hands.

“I would be crazy if I wouldn’t believe Man City can win the Premier League title. I believe, obviously, that the race is on. We have a big game now [vs Arsenal], we’re going to recover well, and we’ll look forward to it,” Doku said.