Manchester City are still in the hunt for their first Premier League title since 2014 as we enter the New Year.

Pep Guardiola’s side picked up three crucial victories over the Christmas period to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats against Leicester and Chelsea, although they lost 1-0 at Liverpool yesterday to fall ten points behind the Blues at the top.

Wins over Watford and Arsenal got City back on track at the Etihad after a tricky spell, and their 3-0 victory at Hull on Boxing Day was their seventh away league win of the campaign.

Guardiola’s men have won 12 of their 19 league games so far, yet their loss to second place Liverpool on New Year’s Eve has put a serious dent in their title aspirations, and even throws their top four chances into doubt going into 2017.

2016 has also seen City reach the Champions League semi-final for the first time in their history, although they lost to eventual champions Real Madrid in the last four, and they clinched their fourth League Cup title with victory over Liverpool in the final at Wembley back in February.

With City having had a solid year, we thought we’d take a look back and review their 2016, and thus have selected their THREE most improved players from the calendar year…

Nicolas Otamendi

He still has the odd bad game, but then so do several Premier League defenders, yet Nicolas Otamendi has improved in 2016.

The Argentine defender came to the Premier League in the summer of 2015 but struggled to instantly adapt to English football, and was guilty of being quite rash and making a few errors in the first few months.

However, the 28-year-old began to get to grips with the division as the season progressed, and it’s been clear so far this season that Guardiola’s confidence in him appears to be paying dividends.

Although he is still prone to the odd error, Otamendi has arguably been City’s best defender this season, and that is something not many would have said this time last year.

Raheem Sterling

Although Raheem Sterling’s stats in 2016 aren’t too dissimilar to those of 2015, you can see that he has become a better player this year.

The England international started his City career well in the second half of 2015, netting nine times in his first few months at the club but, like many, seemed to struggle at times last season.

He didn’t end the season particularly well, but there has been a noticeable difference in his confidence on the pitch this season under Guardiola.

Sterling is taking defenders on and using his pace to get wide and create goal-scoring opportunities, just like he did when at Liverpool.

Six goals and five assists so far this season is a decent return and, although he had a few below-par matches last month, and indeed against Liverpool, the 22-year-old is certainly improving under Guardiola, and will be an important player for City in 2017.

Kelechi Iheanacho

Kelechi Iheanacho was somewhat of an unknown quantity for much of 2015, yet 2016 has seen him become an important striker at the Etihad.

The Nigerian international made his debut for the club in their 2-0 win over Watford on August 29 2015, and went on to net four goals for Manuel Pellegrini’s side before the year was out.

However, the 20-year-old has been used more frequently in 2016, and has scored the goals to match, netting 16 times this calendar year – only Sergio Aguero has scored more for City.

Nonetheless, it’s not just the goals that show an improvement in Iheanacho’s game, it’s the fact that when Aguero was suspended at the start of the 2016/17 season, he deputised and led the line brilliantly in his absence.

Iheanacho is now an important member of the City squad, and one they can rely on when he’s called upon.