Pellegrini positive Man City can close the gap

Having fallen behind to a Loic Remy goal after 41 minutes at Stamford Bridge, City were quickly level as David Silva fired home on the brink of half-time.

Both sides pushed for a winner, but had to settle for a share of the spoils, which left City five points adrift of Chelsea with 15 games remaining.

Jose Mourinho's side may hold the upper hand at the moment, but Pellegrini saw enough in the top-of-the-table clash to believe his charges can retain their Premier League crown.

"Of course it was important to try to close the gap," he said. "We tried but we couldn't.

"We still have 45 points more to play for. I said before the game that this was a very important game but it is not a final.

"We have time to try to recover those five points and if we continue playing in the way we did it will be more easy."

City face Hull City next weekend and have matches against Stoke City and Newcastle United before the end of February.