West Ham United full-back Pablo Zabaleta has admitted that he was left with mixed feelings following his losing return to Manchester City.
The 32-year-old, who left the Etihad Stadium during the summer after close to a decade's service, returned to his former club for the first time on Sunday evening.
Zabaleta played the full 90 minutes of the 2-1 loss, which helped extend table-topping City's lead over closest challengers Manchester United to eight points once again.
Speaking after the match, the Argentina international was quick to back his ex-employers to last the distance and win a third Premier League crown.
"It was really good, really nice to be back in front of the City fans," he told reporters. "I have seen the lads, the staff and everyone. Of course, I was a little upset because I thought we did great and were so close to getting at least one point.
"We showed much better discipline as a team and now we need to move on. There's still a long way to go [for City]. The gap between them and the rest is big at the moment, but the Premier League is hard. Hopefully they can remain big contenders for the title. I hope they win it.
"They are doing great and have a great team. I am so pleased to see them playing that well. Teams come to the Etihad now and defend so deep to try to frustrate them. I wish them all the best and hope they can win a lot of trophies at the end of the season."
Zabaleta was part of City's previous two title-winning squads in 2011-12 and 2013-14.
Daniel Lewis
