There is more than one way to win the Premier League title. Sir Alex Ferguson tried to ensure Manchester United were ruthless against teams in the lower half of the table to afford them some slip-ups against the better sides, although Manchester City famously clinched their first title at United's expense on goal difference having won their two meetings by a score of 7-1.
Antonio Conte and then Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have raised standards over the past five seasons by simply beating everybody in sight, turning draws into bad results because of the need to keep accumulating three points.
The most obvious way to jump ahead of your rivals remains to beat them directly, ensuring that you push yourselves up while keeping them down.
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