Pep Guardiola was having none of it. And, it turns out, he was absolutely right.
"In January it is impossible it is over," bristled the Manchester City boss. "In January no-one is champion. Liverpool have games in hand. If they win, it will be eight points and eight points in January is nothing."
Barely a fortnight into the new year, City had racked up a 12th successive Premier League win by seeing off Chelsea 1-0 at home to open up a 13-point gap over the Londoners at the summit, with Liverpool a further point adrift, albeit with two games in hand.