Gundogan: Manchester City cannot deny title race is over

Manchester City s hopes of winning a third Premier League title in succession are already over, says midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

City suffered a fourth defeat of the domestic season at home to local rivals Manchester United last weekend, leaving them 14 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool after 16 matches.

Gundogan was a key member of the side that edged out Jurgen Klopp s men in an unrelenting battle last time around but feels standards have clearly slipped this term.

Asked how far City are from their best form ahead of Wednesday s Champions League match at Dinamo Zagreb, Gundogan told BT Sport: Quite far, to be honest.

Obviously it s so far a difficult season for us. There s already a huge gap in the Premier League between Liverpool and us.