Pep Guardiola believes fewer points will be required to win the Premier League this season due to increased physical demands on players.
The Manchester City boss saw his side overhauled at the top on Saturday by Liverpool
City became the first team in English top-flight history to reach 100 points in 2017/18 and three more times under Guardiola have broken the 90-point barrier.
Their rivals have in turn upped their game with Liverpool hitting 99, 97 and 92 during three of the last six seasons
while six of the last eight champions have racked up upwards of 90 points.
Before 2017, only four teams had hit 90 in the 21 years since the league reduced to 20 clubs and 38 matches.
Following Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth Guardiola was asked whether he expected that trend to reverse as the number of games drives up pressure on players.
Guardiola
"Of course, absolutely," he said. "If we'd had five more days to prepare and recover (for Bournemouth), maybe we would have been better. Or maybe not, who knows.
"I talked about the calendar for the season when we were winning, not just now because we lost a game. The reality is they won, we congratulate them."
City are due to take part in FIFA's inaugural Club World Cup in July following the completion of the European season.
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