“No no, I’m not joking!” – Pep Guardiola explains key reason behind Manchester City’s improved form after Chelsea win

“No no, I’m not joking!” – Pep Guardiola explains key reason behind Manchester City’s improved form after Chelsea win

• Guardiola: City’s end-of-season form is down to the arrival of the sun in Manchester
• City manager also credits the club’s ability to remain humble after successive years of success
• City have won three on the bounce & cut Arsenal’s lead to six points ahead of next Sunday

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has cited sunny weather in the north-west as the reason behind his side’s improved run of form.

City mounted further pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal – who lost 2-1 to Bournemouth at the weekend – with a dominant 3-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening.

Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku were on the scoresheet as the Blues, who have a game in hand over Mikel Arteta‘s men, cut the gap to Arsenal to six points and set up a potentially title-defining home showdown with the Gunners back in Manchester next Sunday.

Title race over if Manchester City don’t beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, admits Pep Guardiola

Guardiola: It’s the sun, honestly

Asked to explain Manchester City‘s well-documented habit of finding top gear as the season reaches its climax, Guardiola could not resist having a little fun with the question first.

“The sun,” the 55-year-old said. “No, no I’m not joking. In Manchester, never is there (the) sun. If there was sun in November, we would be Premier League champions in January. It’s the sun, honestly. The mood is better.”

It is the kind of self-deprecating wit that has long endeared Guardiola to the City faithful – and there is more than a grain of truth buried within the humour.

City’s recent run of results – wins over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final and Chelsea in the Premier League – has coincided with the season’s brighter spring months, a pattern that Guardiola has referenced before with characteristic warmth.

Nine years of being there defines our structure, says Pep

Beyond the comedy, however, Guardiola was equally forthcoming with a more considered answer – one that spoke to the deeper cultural foundations that have underpinned City’s decade of dominance under his stewardship.

“One of the secrets we’ve had as a club, organisation is after success, success, success, we were humble enough or calm enough to say, ‘Okay, what do we have to do to continue being up there?’,” he said.

Jeremy Doku: Manchester City will be well prepared to give ‘big punch’ to Arsenal

“That is the most difficult thing. Winning once or twice, it’s okay. But during nine years, being there all the time except last season, that defines the whole structure.”

The comments arrive in the context of a season that has tested that structure more than most. City endured a difficult winter marked by inconsistent form, injuries and a heavy UEFA Champions League Round of 16 defeat to Real Madrid.

Yet the Blues head into the final weeks of the campaign still in contention for a domestic treble, with an FA Cup semi-final against Southampton at Wembley and a home Premier League clash against Arsenal on the horizon.

Guardiola had previously suggested the title race would effectively be over if City failed to win at Stamford Bridge. They won convincingly. And with the sun finally out in Manchester, the mood at the Etihad Stadium has never felt better.