Points needed to win Premier League: Will fewer be required this season?

Despite defeat on Saturday, City are only one point short of the 24 they had at this stage last season, before going on to win a fourth successive title with 91 points.

City became the first team in English top-flight history to reach 100 points in 2017-18 – dropping just 14 points – and they have broken the 90-point barrier on three other occasions under Guardiola.

That has forced their rivals to reach new heights, with Liverpool exceeding 90 points three times in the past six years – but winning the title only once.

Six of the last eight champions have won more than 90 points, but prior to 2017 only four teams had reached that tally in the 21 years since the league was reduced to 20 clubs.

Asked whether he expects those standards will drop this season, Guardiola said: “Of course, absolutely.

“If we’d had five more days to prepare and recover [for Bournemouth], maybe we would have been better. Or maybe not, who knows.

“I talked about the calendar for the season when we were winning, not just now because we lost a game. The reality is they won, we congratulate them.”