Pep Guardiola Maintains City Still Have A Long Way To Go

Written By Jacobs Dunga

Manchester City put one foot in the quarter finals of the Champions League with a comprehensive performance in Lisbon last night as they ran away 5-0 victors.

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Four first half goals and a fifth in the second half were all City needed to dispatch Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their round 16 tie played at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Tuesday night.

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Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring inside the first ten minutes before Bernardo’s brace on either side of a Phil Foden finish set City up 4-0 going into the break.

Raheem Sterling got another goal for City just before the hour mark to complete the scoring and set the English champions on their way to the quarter finals.

Pep Guardiola however was not overly convinced as he pointed out his side losing possession carelessly on too many occasions.

The Spanish coach also maintains that there’s always the chance to do more as he urged his players not to dwell on the victory.

“We defended well and got an incredible result,” he said. “We have a duty to look at the performance too, even if the result is a dream.

“The performance could have been better. The difference between the two teams is not 0-5, but we were just so clinical.”

The Citizens were criticized last season after losing the final to Chelsea despite going all the group stages and knockouts unbeaten with Pep keen to go one better this time.

He added: “If we do go through to the quarter-finals, who knows what will happen. Last season we made a perfect Champions League season, then we lost the final. Then we are seen as a failure. I will not hide behind a 5-0 win, there is a long way to go.”

Meanwhile…

Portuguese sensation Bernardo Silva before ho got a brace on the night has been hailed by Pep as the perfect player who understands football really well.

The former Benfica man returned to familiar territory on Tuesday night and put up a performance worthy of accolades.

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Pep hailed him as the perfect player who only needs to start scoring so as to be recognized amongst the elites of European football.

“I always tell him ‘you are the perfect player’,” Guardiola said. “With the ball, he is more than exceptional, but I always say to him you have to go and win games, you have to have the ability to do it. He has the technique, everything.

“This was his hometown, and he loves coming back here. Of course, he is a former Benfica player, so this was special for him tonight.”

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