Is the Premier League title race already over?

Manchester City have ruthlessly seized control during a week which could well end up being pivotal in this season’s race to be crowned champions

Man City moved eight points clear at the top on Wednesday (PA)

A few short weeks ago hopes were high that something the Premier League has never seen was set to unfold.

As surprising as it may sound, English football's premier competition has never had a three-horse title race, one where a trio of teams battled it out to be crowned champions all the way to the end.

It is a scenario it has sometimes teased but never really come close to. The 2013-14, 2007-08 and 1998-99 seasons all finished with just four points separating top and third, but the third in all three - twice Chelsea and Arsenal once in 2007-08 - never truly felt like they were really in the race.

Most seasons have ultimately come down to a battle between two teams - or, as has become more common in recent years, one.

And that is now where things appear to be heading once more after champions Manchester City ruthlessly seized control during a week which we could well look back on as being pivotal in this season's title race.

First to blink were Liverpool with the Reds following up the tempestuous draw at Tottenham 10 days ago with defeat at Leicester City.

Mohamed Salah's first-half penalty miss proved costly as Ademola Lookman scored the only goal of the game at the King Power.

It was an uncharacteristically poor performance from Jurgen Klopp's side, a display devoid of the usual verve and dynamism we have come to expect from the German's teams.

"It was not our plan to give City the chance to run away," he said in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday evening's game. "If we play like tonight we cannot think about catching up with City.

"If we play our football and we can win games, we can see how many points we can get and what that means. I don't have a proper explanation for tonight - to find it is my main concern, not City.

"We were not ourselves. We started OK, I didn't like the intensity even in the beginning but it was the start. Then we lost the rhythm and never found it again."

Klopp knows how damaging recent results could be to Liverpool’s chances (PA)

Rhythm is exactly what Chelsea were in a month ago as they headed into December top of the pile.

Unbeaten in eight in the league following the home defeat to City in September they looked, both at home and abroad, to be in ominous form.

Then came the bump. A chaotic defeat at West Ham was the catalyst for a five-game skid with only two wins and the once impregnable defence showing significant signs of weakness.

Covid and injuries have certainly taken their toll with Wednesday's last-gasp draw with Brighton where Danny Welbeck snatched a point in injury time seeing another two first-team regulars limp away.

Reece James and Andreas Christensen now join Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell as key absentees. N'Golo Kante and Romelu Lukaku have only just returned from layoffs themselves with a host of other players down with the virus.

Asked if his team still have a chance, boss Thomas Tuchel was clear and to the point.

"How should we be in it? We have seven Covid cases. We have five or six players out for six or more weeks. How should we compete in a title race?," he said.

"Everyone else who has a full squad, everybody in training has the full power to come through this league.

"We would be stupid to think we can do it out of Covid and injuries and just play, and everybody would be stupid to do it without 23 fit players."

Chelsea have fallen off the pace in recent weeks (Getty Images)

All that leaves City, who dealt with an injury crisis of their own earlier in the month, to flex their muscle to the tune of a 10-match winning run.

The latest came at Brentford on Wednesday night with Phil Foden's early goal proving the winner to move Pep Guardiola's side eight points clear at the summit.

The advantage could be 11 by the time Chelsea and Liverpool meet at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon in what already looks like being a hugely challenging gap to close.

In the Abu Dhabi era, and latterly the Guardiola one, City have succeeded in raising the standard for what is required to win a league title, hitting the front as early as possible and setting an unmatchable pace to the finish line.

It was in December last year that they started what would become a 21-match winning run in all competitions to move all the way from mid-table to first and a lead of 15 points.

As those around them have naturally faltered in recent weeks, City have used the deepest and most expensively assembled squad in the league to only get stronger and delivered the type of relentless consistency they have become known for.

There remains a long way to go, of course, but their rivals know their work is cut out for them to catch the defending champions.

Guardiola, though, isn't ready to crown anyone just yet.

"We won the game, we are on a good run, but it's the end of December," he said after Wednesday's win. "There are many games to go. We are eight points in front but there are 54 still to play for and many tough games still to play.

"I'm not going to believe anyone who says it's already done. The teams we have with Chelsea and Liverpool are more than exceptional.

"We have the distance not because they dropped points but because we won 10 in a row. But there are 54 points still to play for."