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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists Manchester City are in pole position in the title race despite his side being top and nine points ahead of them.

"I would prefer to be in City's position," said Portuguese after watching Chelsea thrash Tottenham 4-0.

"They have three matches in hand. If they win them all, they are top.

"We don't have control of our destiny - if we win all our matches then maybe we are not champions. If City win their games, they are champions."

With nine game games remaining, Chelsea are also seven points clear of Liverpool and Arsenal, who are second and third in the Premier League table respectively, each with a game in hand.

But it is fourth-placed City - whose goal difference of 42 is eight better than Chelsea's - who Mourinho claims are still title favourites, a belief echoed by his captain John Terry.

"I think we all agree - Manchester City are the strongest side," John Terry told Sky. "They have shown that in games they performed, and they have got games in hand as well.

"It's great to have the points on the board at the moment, but for sure they have got a bigger and better squad, a lot of firepower up front.

"They have a game in the week against Barcelona. If they go out [of the Champions League] it only strengthens their chances.

"All we can do is keep winning our home games. At times we are not playing at our best but we are still grinding out results and that is very much like the old Mourinho teams."

Chelsea beat Tottenham thanks to four second-half goals.

Samuel Eto'o notably joked about Mourinho's recent jibes regarding his age in celebrating Chelsea's opening goal.

"Eto'o's celebration on the pitch was brilliant - a great idea to make fun of a story," Mourinho added.

"Fernando Torres was going to start and could not [after getting injured in the warm-up] and I said to Eto'o that it was his destiny to score today.

"The goal, his movement, the way he held the ball - he was very important for us."