Pep Guardiola hails his Man City team for still being ‘alive’ in another Treble-chasing season… and insists it’s an ‘incredible privilege’ to fight again on all fronts after thrashing Luton 5-1 to reclaim top spot

Pep Guardiola hailed his team for being ‘alive’ for another Treble – and has called on his players to embrace the ‘incredible’ opportunity to fight again on all fronts.

City thumped Luton 5-1 to end the day top of the Premier League table for the first time since November, as attention now turns to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday before an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Asked about how his team step up when the season reaches its final stages, he said: ‘It is incredible to be here again. What a privilege.

‘After we are done the previous season we are still fighting in the Premier League with 21 points left. On Wednesday we are playing against Real Madrid with a chance to qualify for the semi-finals and all the energy our fans will bring.

‘And FA Cup next Saturday against Chelsea, again a semi-final. What a privilege. Imagine no chance for the Premier League, no chance for any competition.

The star of the show against Luton was Jeremy Doku as City returned to the top of the table 

The champions were at their best as the thrashed the Hatters 5-1 to send out title warning 

‘So try to extend for one more week, one more week. In the Premier League we have one more week. We have a chance.

‘I don’t know what will happen tomorrow but no win today, they win. We have to win our games and make [Arsenal and Liverpool] feel pressure. This is the only message we can do with six left. We’ve done our job.’

It was a scintillating display from City, with Jeremy Doku the star of the show as Guardiola made six changes from the side that drew 3-3 away to Real Madrid in midweek.

For Luton Town and their boss Rob Edwards, he was simply glad to reach the final whistle.

‘Today was the hardest game we’ve had all season,’ he said.

‘It felt like they were in our final third all season. We couldn’t get out and they were excellent.

‘Today was always going to be very difficult. I’d almost made peace with it at the beginning.

Rob Edwards was proud of his Luton side on what he called their hardest games of the season 

‘I’m proud of the lads. I wiped it as soon as I went into the changing room. Let’s be realistic, they are a brilliant football team who are way ahead of us at the moment. 

‘It was a tough start but then we gathered ourselves and stayed in it. We kept going and I’ve got to give the players credit for that.

‘They suffocated us and controlled the game, it was a long day for us.’

City now have one eye on tomorrow’s games as Arsenal host Aston Villa and Liverpool welcome Crystal Palace to Anfield, both with the chance of leapfrogging City.