Manchester City have hit their best run of form of the season because the players are embracing the tightrope of knowing a defeat will be terminal to their hopes in one of the three competitions they are still in.
That is the view of manager Pep Guardiola after he watched his side beat Burnley 6-0 to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals, keeping their hopes of a treble alive.
City face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals and have little room for manoeuvre in the Premier League as they try and hunt down Arsenal at the top.
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But that sense of jeopardy is bringing out the best in the Blues, who have now won six games in a row and have kept five successive clean sheets. After thrashing RB Leipzig in midweek they've now scored 13 goals in two matches.
Asked why his team had clicked into gear, Guardiola said: "I had the feeling the players know we cannot lose otherwise will be over and when you have this urgency we can mount our best. Premier League we have to win win win and Champions League is what it is.
"We are in a good moment yeah, you say in this month against Newcastle we were not good. I saw the game they played against United in the final of the Carabao Cup and they were unbelievably good, the threats United have in that moment maybe Newcastle didn’t have.
"After Leipzig and Palace, always difficult, we score a lot of goals and concede few chances and defend well. We are a threat in the set-pieces like never before. We defend comfortably and better.
"We have time to think about it but now we know. I think Arsenal is going to drop few points so we have to win all the games. A rival for the Champions League, a historical team an honour to play against Bayern and the semi-final of the FA Cup again."
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