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The Blues defeated the league leaders in December, but it will take more effort to stay focused, according to the Italian.
Chelsea may be one of the few teams to beat Manchester City this season, but Maurizio Sarri still believes Pep Guardiola's team is the best team in Europe.
The Sarri players were the first to beat City in the Premier League this season, with goals from N & # 39; Golo Kante and David Luiz condemning the defending champions to a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in early December .
The other defeats of Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Newcastle United have proved that Guardiola's men are indeed fallible, but recent results have seen them return to the top of the high-end English, beating Liverpool on goal difference.
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And although Sarri is one of the few coaches to have the upper hand on Pep this season, he admits that repeating the operation this Sunday at Etihad Stadium will not be an easy task.
"I think we were lucky [in the last match vs City] because we scored at a very difficult time of the match, "said the Italian at a press conference Friday.
"We may have deserved to win in the second half, but we had a lot of luck in the first. In this match, we defended very well because they had only three chances to go, no more.
"It's not easy for City to limit them to three or four chances – they have scored 43 goals in 15 games, so it's hard and we have to defend ourselves well.
"I was satisfied with the result and the performance, we now need consistency. I hope that Sunday we will be the best version [of ourselves].
Sarri added about his game plan: "We have to be very fast when we get the ball back. They are able to support well and it is difficult to find a way out of this situation.
"If we can do that, we can do well.
The Chelsea boss has been instructed to regain the title of West London club champion, but he says there is still a lot of work to be done before being able to get closer to the City level. or Liverpool.
"We need to reduce the gap," he said. "We have to work. You can either be the most competitive in the market or work. I do not know of any other way.
"The Premier League is very difficult. It is not easy to win or even to access the Champions League. We have to work, but I think that they [Man City] are an example for each club.
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"I think they're the best team in Europe.
"For the moment, I do not think [we are title contenders]. I think we can fight for the top four this season, no more. We can win something, of course, but the Premier League is now a fight between Manchester City and Liverpool. "
Continuing on the question of whether Chelsea could compete with City in the future, Sarri simply replied, "I think so."
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