Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has played down his side's pursuit of the Premier League title.

City's title defence was severely dented on Monday night when they were beaten 2-1 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park which saw them drop nine points behind leaders Chelsea who have a game in hand.

City have it all in front of them if they want to make it back-to-back premierships but Pellegrini insists it is now a matter of picking up as many points as they can in their remaining seven fixtures.

"We are not talking about the title," he told the club's official website. "We just want to win our games - that is the only duty we have to do.

"Every time you drop points, it is a big blow. Every point you lose is important when it comes to the end of the season but we must try to continue playing the way we did today because we normally win games this way.

"The last seven games are very important. There are 21 points to play for. We must try and win as many points as possible and we will see which position in the table we finish."