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How Man United give us hope in chasing down Chelsea - Man City star
PABLO ZABALETA is taking heart from Manchester City's overhaul of neighbours Manchester United in 2012 as they aim to chase down Chelsea.
Conte: The team played very well and I am happy
The Manchester City stalwart played an important role in their first Premier League title glory five years ago when he scored the opener on the final day against Queens Park Rangers.
Sergio Aguero's last-minute winner saw City leapfrog Manchester United at the final hurdle, having trailed by eight points at one stage.
This season, Pep Guardiola's team have an even bigger mountain to climb with Chelsea 10 points ahead at the top, and Tottenham are a point better off too.
Pablo Zabaleta celebrated with Gabriel Jesus after his late winner for Man City against Swansea
However, the January arrival of Gabriel Jesus up front has given them their edge back, as he was pivotal in Sunday's late 2-1 win over Swansea.
And while Antonio Conte's Blues have lost just three league games, Zabaleta still feels it is possible to beat the west London outfit.
“It’s important to believe,” Zabaleta said.
“That gap with Chelsea is really big and we cannot drop points if we want to catch them so we need to keep winning games and then see if Chelsea can drop points.
Pablo Zabaleta points to Manchester City's 2012 comeback as inspiration in their pursuit of Chelsea
Manchester City's Pablo Zabaleta believes Antonio Conte's Chelsea will drop points in the title race
We had that situation before when we won the first title
"We had that situation before when we won the first title [in 2011-12] – we were eight points behind [Manchester] United.
"Of course we need that belief.”
City do have the FA Cup and Champions League as distractions going forward, but Guardiola's squad can handle their busy schedule.
Zabaleta will hope City are still in the race with Chelsea too when the sides go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge on April 5.
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