Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City players that they will have to improve, even after putting in what he described as “one of their best” performances of the season.
City went 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League table on Wednesday night with a comfortable 3-0 win over a limited West Bromwich Albion side.
Kevin De Bruyne starred, setting up Fernandinho for the opener and scoring City’s second before Sergio Aguero rounded off the win late on.
Guardiola was delighted with the dominant display from his players which could have resulted in a wider winning margin, but he warned them they could yet find themselves “in trouble”.
The City manager saw his side register 10 shots on Ben Foster’s goal and believes they will need to convert more of their opportunities on goal to be successful in the Champions League.
“I feel it was one of the best performances of the season,” Guardiola said. “To play better is difficult but in knock-out games, finals, we must be more clinical or we will be in trouble.
“We created an amazing game to play, a joy to watch and to play that way but we missed a lot of chances and against top teams it will be a problem if we cannot improve.”
The City manager added: “It could have been seven or eight – hopefully we can improve it.”
After Raheem Sterling wasted one chance at the start of the second half with the score at 1-0, Guardiola felt compelled to call the winger over to the touchline and plant a kiss on his cheek.
When asked whether his reaction to Sterling’s miss was spontaneous, Guardiola joked: “Spontaneous? No, I prepared the day before.
“When you ask me about Raheem, what can he improve? That [missing chances]. When he improves that he will be a top class player.”
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- Alan Pardew
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