City no more special than United, Arsenal and Chelsea – Hodgson

Manchester City are no different to the dominant sides of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in years gone by, according to Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson.

Pep Guardiola’s City have been a class above this season, threatening to go through the Premier League campaign undefeated following 18 successive victories to open a 15-point lead.

City are a win away from matching the record of 19 consecutive triumphs set by Guardiola at Bayern Munich.

However, Hodgson played down City’s exploits as he highlighted United’s treble-winning team in 1999, the ‘Invincibles’ of 2004 under Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho’s dominant Chelsea.

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— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) December 29, 2017

“We have seen it in England before, there’s no question of that,” Hodgson said ahead of Sunday’s clash with City.

“Wonderful Arsenal teams, wonderful Manchester United teams, very strong Chelsea teams that have dominated the league, and we’re seeing a very strong Manchester City.

“Like those previous good teams, managed by Arsene, by Alex Ferguson, Chelsea managed by Jose Mourinho, the managers of those teams don’t seem to want to let up in any way, have that desire to take their foot off the pedal and cruise, roll downhill to a victory.

“They always seem very, very determined that they won’t spare anybody.”

Palace are 40 points adrift of City in 16th position, only a point above the relegation zone after 20 matches.