Pep Guardiola joked he was ‘a genius’ after a double substitution kept Manchester City on Arsenal’s tail in the Premier League title race.

Riyad Mahrez fired City to a 1-0 win at Chelsea to cut the deficit to the leaders back to five points. Less than three minutes after coming on as substitutes, Jack Grealish teed up Mahrez for the winner which keeps Arsenal firmly in their sights.

Guardiola had earlier sent on Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji for Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo in a bid to liven his side up following a lacklustre first half.

‘The first half was sloppy,’ he said. ‘We didn’t create much, our pressing was so poor we were not well organised and in the second half especially with Manuel and Rico we were better.

‘I am a genius. Because after Everton I was asked why I didn’t make a substitution until 81 minutes. I thought about that today and made some.

‘We could lose here, but now we have a five-point gap. We have three less points to play for. It means a lot but we have to prove ourselves so because it is normal to be in this position after four Premier Leagues in five years.

‘We have the mindset that in November the people believe we are already champions, and this is impossible.

‘Other teams that don’t have this pressure because people say in September that City are going to win.

‘After four Premier Leagues in five years it is not easy to push them again. That is why I am satisfied after what happened in recent years.

‘We’d prefer to be closer but with the way Arsenal play they deserve to better. For us it was so important, especially in the second half, to be aware that we can do it again and again and again.’

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk