THE GUTS GLORY
Cesar hails fighting spirit as Blues close in on title
played better than a lot of games that we won and we recovered and coped really well against City.”
Prior to the match, Guardiola suggested his rival Antonio Conte was the best manager in the world.
The Italian drew widespread praise for changing his system at half-time, taking off centre-back Kurt Zouma and bringing on midfielder Nemanja Matic to pack the centre of the pitch where City had been in charge.
That allowed Azpilicueta to go back to central defence, where he has flourished this season, from the right wing-back role.
Conte explained: “The substitution was a tactical one because, in the first half, we were suffering a lot in midfield.
“They were finding a lot of spaces between the lines. For this reason, I wanted to reinforce our midfield with Matic.”
Azpilicueta added: “The manager is doing an amazing job.
“To get these words from him, with what he has achieved in football, is really, really important.
“To come to England and in the first year, to be in first position and hopefully finish the season with trophies – we have the chance to win the FA Cup as well – he is doing an amazing job.
“I am sure he will want to finish with the two trophies.
“It’s true, nothing is won.
“There are eight games in the league to play, we have the semi-final of the FA Cup, so at this stage, we haven’t got any silverware and we have to fight for it.”