Rarely this season have Manchester City had to fight as hard for a result as they did against Huddersfield.

The Terriers took a shock lead through a Nicolas Otamendi own goal shortly before half-time, but goals from Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling helped Pep Guardiola's men equal a club record of 11 straight victories.

The stat that really matters, of course, is that they are now eight points ahead of second-placed rivals Manchester United, and it's very difficult to see beyond them for the title at the moment.

Were it not for Jonas Lossl, City might have scored a few more, with many expecting them to hand out another thrashing against newly-promoted Town.

Indeed, the hosts were somewhat fortunate that they only conceded just the one spot-kick, as Sterling was involved in two incidents within a minute of each other.

The first, when he was taken out by Lossl, prompted a furious reaction from the England international. Craig Pawson soon made up for it, however, finally awarding a penalty when Sterling was brought down by Scott Malone.

Maybe it was fitting that it was the former Liverpool man who - quite rightly - earned it after Arsene Wenger recently claimed that he "dives very well".

Pep hits back

That was after an incident during City's 3-1 win over Arsenal at the start of November, but the comment still clearly bothers Guardiola.

And the City boss clearly couldn't resist biting back at Le Professeur by having a dig in his post-match interview.

"Two clear penalties. Maybe Arsene will say that is [a] penalty," he joked on Sky Sports, per the Evening Standard.

Guardiola was also full of praise for the 22-year-old's goal, which he slotted home after Lossl had saved from Gabriel Jesus.

"Raheem is young. Now he is a winning player. Before he made good actions but now he is winning games," he added.

"We're in November and he's already broken the record [his tally of 12 goals is his best in a Premier League season]. I'm impressed. Not just in terms of how many goals he scores or how many goals he creates but in the game how he keeps the ball.

"Still he's young. If he is able to improve, we are going to be there to help him become a better player. We are so satisfied with his performance."

That performance must feel all the better now that he's been able to prove Wenger wrong.

How highly do you rate Raheem Sterling? Have your say in the comments.