Premier League: Man City win 3-1 at Watford to go top for first time this season

Watford have conceded 41 goals in 13 games against Manchester City in the Premier League, the most they have conceded against any single side in the competition. The 3.2 goals per game that they have conceded in this fixture is the most by one side against another among all fixtures played at least 10 times.

Watford boss Claudio Ranieri, speaking to Match of the Day: "What’s important now is the experience against the big teams. Now we start playing teams like us who are fighting against relegation.

"When you play against these [big] teams, it’s another [type of] football. Now it’s a battle in every situation.

"Every time I only look match by match. If I’d seen all the big teams we had to play this month… it was very tough!"

Man City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We created more chances than Wednesday [against Aston Villa] but the game could be over after 15 minutes. The most important thing is that we won.

"We played in a consistent way, controlled, we played a good game again.

"Take a look at what happened with Manchester United, Chelsea, we did it really well, we didn’t allow them to be who they are. I have a lot of respect for Claudio [Ranieri], but it’s not that [Watford] didn't want to do it – we didn't allow it."

On Jack Grealish's missed chances: "Jack knows it, he has to do better but – in footfall, putting the ball in the net is the hardest thing.

"Sometimes you score goals with three actions, sometimes with 15 – it’s football.

"Thanks to Bernardo [Silva]. Because he made me not wrong [when Guardiola said Silva is the league's best player currently]. So thanks to him. I know he’s so humble, there are thousands - well not thousands - but top players in the Premier League, and he is doing so well.

"There are always things we have to improve, but right now, the guys are playing at a really good level."

Two games at the top in Europe tonight.

Real Sociedad play La Liga leaders Real Madrid and Lens face Ligue 1's big dogs PSG.

Follow live text commentary of those games here.

Watford boss Claudio Ranieri, speaking to Sky Sports: "If somebody had told me some time ago, 'Claudio, against Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea you would get three points', I would sign immediately.

"I saw a good spirit – at 3-0 down we never gave up. We conceded a lot of counter-attacks but I saw a lot of spirit, togetherness and commitment. I’m satisfied. Our Premier League starts now.

"I spoke with the players before – I said be careful because when we press higher, they move the ball very well. It’s much better to stay a little deeper and counter-attack. We played better, but of course there are players who, one against one, have the key to open every defensive line.

"I wanted to give some more opportunities to [Joshua] King, so I put Joao Pedro behind him. I left them more chances, but I didn’t like to lose without having a chance to do something more. Today maybe we were a little tired. We didn’t combine as well as against Chelsea, but it’s OK.

"There is a very good battle between the other teams. There are six or seven teams at least in the battle [to stay] in the Premier League. I’m confident. Of course we make mistakes, but we work to improve these mistakes."

Man City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to Sky Sports: "A really good performance. We missed lot of chances, hopefully next time we'll convert more.

"The game should be over quicker. We are in the routine that we’re consistent in the way we play. In football the most difficult thing is to put the ball in the net. But the way we played was really good again.

"We saw the games against United, Chelsea, Leicester, they created a lot of chances by running on the counter, we stopped that today.

"We scored three beautiful goals and we could have scored more."

On Bernardo Silva: "I want to say thank you, because after what I said [in midweek about Silva being the best in the league currently], the performance he has done – he didn’t make me wrong. So thank you. He did me well. He is so important for us."

On Jack Grealish: "I asked Jack if he enjoyed playing in this position touching the ball lots, he said yes. But still it’s a bit away from his best condition, he had some days off, he needs rhythm, but it’s good. We have players that can play in different positions."

Phil Foden has scored 21 goals and assisted a further 15 in all competitions for Manchester City since the start of last seasonl. His 36 total goals and assists are three more than any other player for the club over this period.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Watford have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 25 Premier League matches, the longest run of any side since Burnley’s 29 between November 2009 and August 2014.

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, speaking to Match of the Day: "It's definitely a very good win. We should probably have scored some more goals. At half-time it was 2-0 and it could have been three or four. We’re not even half way through [the season], there’s a lot of work to do.

"Each game demands different things. The team worked very well with the ball. We moved them very well, controlled the counter-attacks and kept putting pressure on them. We have to keep going. It’s just the beginning.

"Liverpool aren’t dropping a lot of points, Chelsea aren’t dropping a lot of points. This season is going to be tough because the teams are strong – not only the big teams but also the small teams. It’s not going to be easy. We’re going to have to work a lot to win games.”

Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester, Chelsea and Manchester City were Watford's last five opponents.

They beat United and lost to the other four.

Watford are three points above the bottom three.

Watford captain Moussa Sissoko speaking to Sky Sports: "It was a very tough game. We knew that City are always tough, they have a big squad.

"After our performance against Chelsea, we put in a lot of effort. Today it wasn’t easy, we gave out best, we tried to play our way – but City were better than us, we have to accept that.

"The most important thing is to stay together and fight - we did that.

"This is our mentality now - to commit from the beginning to the end.

"We can say our season will start now against an opponent that is more our level and hopefully we'll play as we did today and get some points.

"The most important thing was to give our best, We did it and we can be proud of that, even if we lose. We have time to check what was wrong today and get ready for the next game.

"We’ve played some big teams in a row, we competed well against the best teams in England, now we’ll play against teams that are more or less our level."

There have been loads of FA Cup second-round games today.

Watch the highlights here.

Bernardo Silva is Manchester City's top scorer in the Premier League this season with seven.

Only Mohamed Salah (13), Jamie Vardy (9) and Diogo Jota (8) have scored more.

No other City players have more than three goals.

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, speaking to Sky Sports: "It was definitely a very good job in the first half. The team started very well, creating chances and not allowing them to counter-attack. We scored two in the first half but should have scored more.

"It’s always better to be top of the league than second, third or fourth, but it’s still early. It’s so close – Liverpool are just one point behind us, Chelsea are two points behind us.

"Liverpool and Chelsea are having an amazing season. It’s tough for us to compete with each other. We know the level and standards are very high. We know how tough it is to win the most competitive league in the world. We’re going to try our best, like we always do.

"This season I’ve been scoring a lot and I’ll try to keep it that way. What matters is that we’re top of the league now and the team are doing very well at the moment. At the end of the season we want to celebrate some titles.

"My first four goals this season were all tap-ins. My last few goals have been quite good, but it doesn’t matter – what matters is putting the ball in the back of the net. I’m happy to help the team.

"We know we don’t have a striker. We have a lot of players who try to get in the box and finish. We try to put numbers in the box. If we arrive in the box, we’re going to score goals.

"We’re happy with the moment and happy with our form. We have to keep working because this season is going to be very tough."

SMS Message: Agree with Lucas (19.24) and I'm a city fan. Difference is that City share the load around so are unlikely to contain the Player of the Season. Liverpool are way too dependent on their superstar... as they'll find out during the African cup of nations. from Sheffieldblue

Agree with Lucas (19.24) and I'm a city fan. Difference is that City share the load around so are unlikely to contain the Player of the Season. Liverpool are way too dependent on their superstar... as they'll find out during the African cup of nations.

It's all over in Der Klassiker. Bayern Munich win 3-2 at Borussia Dortmund to go four points clear of their rivals at the top.

Robert Lewandowski's double means he has scored 66 goals in 55 games for club and country this season.

Still not good enough for the Ballon d'Or...

City have won 14 consecutive matches against Watford in all competitions, by an aggregate score of 53-7.

The Premier League record for most matches by a manager against a single opponent and still having a 100% winning record is nine by Pep Guardiola versus Watford.

Manchester City (W31 D2 L6) have set a new club record for most top-flight wins in a single calendar year.

Only Chelsea (32 in 2005) have won more Premier League games in a year.

City (W17 D1 L2) have equalled the top-flight record for most away victories in a single calendar year - also 17 by Spurs in 1960.

Atletico Madrid have just lost 2-1 at home to Mallorca in La Liga.

The champions are fourth, seven points behind Real Madrid, who play Real Sociedad at 20:00 GMT.

The player who scored Mallorca's last-minute winner was Real Madrid loanee Takefusa Kubo.