Kevin De Bruyne says he would be among the first to congratulate Liverpool if they can wrest the title off a determined Manchester City.

Champions City kept up the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over West Ham on Wednesday, ensuring the gap at the top remained at one point.

Both teams now have 10 games to play and De Bruyne has warned the Reds that he feels City’s play is matching the standards they showed last year.

The midfielder said: “There’s not a different atmosphere as we are probably on the same level as we were then – but last year we were 12 points ahead, and now we are one behind. That shows Liverpool are doing well.

“If we keep winning and they keep winning it goes to the wire, but if we win every game until the end of the season and it’s not enough you just have to congratulate Liverpool, as they will win with 99 points.

“There are still 10 games in the Premier League – a long way to go – and Liverpool are still there, so we try to win game by game.

“We don’t know where we will end up. We want to win every game but with the schedule being so tough it gets difficult.”

City are next in action at Bournemouth on Saturday, when they will have a chance to return to the top ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Everton on Sunday.

City, who won the Carabao Cup last weekend, are still in contention for an unprecedented quadruple and are trying to balance the title chase with involvement in the Champions League and FA Cup.

“You try to win game by game and if you come to the end stages you want to win the tournament,” said De Bruyne.