Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

David Silva says win over Crystal Palace will keep pressure on Chelsea

David Silva believes Manchester City's comeback in the title race means Chelsea could be put under greater pressure.

City have won their last six Premier League games and Saturday's 3-0 victory against Crystal Palace meant they drew level on points with the leaders.

Jose Mourinho's team have a chance to re-establish a gap when they visit Stoke on Monday but Silva is expecting them to have a tough test at the Britannia Stadium.

He said: "We were eight points behind Chelsea a few weeks ago and now we have the same number of points, at least until they play on Monday, so maybe we can put a bit of pressure on them.

"I feel it will be a tough game for Chelsea. We know how difficult it is to play Stoke, at home and away, as they showed at the Etihad [where they won 1-0]. We will focus on ourselves and hope they drop some points."

City have recorded eight successive victories in all competitions and Silva thinks they have shown their stature in their winning run.

He added: "Big teams have to get used to this type of pressure, and we need to replicate it until the end of the season and win as many trophies as we can."

Silva doubled his tally for the season with a brace against Palace and enjoyed his central role in a City team who were deprived of their specialist strikers.

The Spaniard said: "I like to play in the middle, even though I can play on both wings. When I play in the middle I get chances to score, and that is why I scored the two goals. But I will be happy to help the team when the strikers are back.

"When you play against this type of team, who put a lot of men behind the ball, it can be good to play without any strikers, because the opposition don't have any reference. It can be useful against this type of team."

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