Ilkay Gundogan says the Premier League title race is over for Manchester City.
The Citizens are 14 points behind leaders Liverpool after last weekend's loss to Manchester United.
And Gundogan has already conceded defeat to Jurgen Klopp's side.
Asked about how far City were off their best form, the German 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.
"We can't deny that the title race is already over for us, so we have to compete to qualify for the Champions League again next season.
"That's disappointing, to be honest. Also, this early in the season to have such a huge gap is something that we're not really used to."