Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes the workrate of two players is the difference this season.

Former Stoke City No2 Mark Bowen recalled a conversation between Mark Hughes and Guardiola after they lost 7-2 at City last October.

“One interesting thing after the game, we went in for a glass of wine with Pep after the game and Mark asked him what was the difference for his team between this year and last year," said Bowen .

“He turned round and gave a very simple answer. He said it's easy when your two best players, Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva, work harder than anybody else in the team.

“He was saying that every Saturday they covered more ground than anyone else.

"It was interesting to get his thoughts on the way he goes about preparing his players and what he felt about them.

“It all came down to the same philosophy at Barcelona...I don't care how talented you are, if you aren't prepared to run and work, then you are less than the sum of the parts."