Manchester City move closer Premier League title brink

MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini finally admitted he expects to win the title after Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa 4-0 and believes it will be a triumph for beautiful football if his side are crowned champions.

City, who are two points clear of second-placed Liverpool and have a superior goal difference, only need a draw against West Ham on Sunday to lift the Premier League trophy for the second time in three years.

And they became just the second side in 50 years to reach a century of goals in English top-flight football when Yaya Toure scored their fourth against Villa.

"Of course I expect to win the title because now we are top of the table," said Pellegrini in a news conference. "Now we can talk about the title because if we win the next game we are going to win the title. We could not do the same before this game because we had to beat Aston Villa."

Only the Chelsea side of 2009-10 had managed 100 Premier League goals before Edin Dzeko, with a brace, Stevan Jovetic and Toure took City to the landmark.

And Pellegrini added: "I think it will be very important, not only [to win] the title but in the way we are going to win the title if finally we win it. I think we have a style of play, I think we are an attractive team, I think we score many goals and we are always thinking to score more goals. That to me has the same importance as winning the title.

"I am very happy to win the title this way. There are different ways to win titles. I choose this one with attractive football so that the fans enjoy the season. For me, the aesthetic part is very important.

"We always try to play as a creative team and we have creative players. The characteristics of the players, with Fernandinho, with Yaya, with Samir [Nasri], with [David] Silva, Jovetic and [Sergio] Aguero are technical players and we try to give them the ball as much as we can as a team."

Toure became only the second central midfielder to record 20 Premier League goals in a season, after Frank Lampard, and Pellegrini singled him out for praise.

He said: "It is an amazing amount of goals. I think Yaya is the absolute complete midfielder in the way we plays. He scores goals, he marks, he is the complete midfielder. He plays with the freedom to do what he thinks is best."