London - Separated from Chelsea by alphabetical order on New Year's Day, Manchester City now trail the Premier League leaders by nine points and their hopes of retaining the title appear to be over.
A 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace on Monday continued a poor run of form that has brought only four wins in 11 league games and sent City down to fourth, piling the pressure on manager Manuel Pellegrini
City had 74 percent possession, 22 shots and 13 corners against a spirited Palace side but they could only find the net through Yaya Toure's 78th-minute goal.