Pep Guardiola claimed some of his Manchester City players “underperformed” during their Champions League thrashing of Sporting on Tuesday night.
A Bernardo Silva brace coupled by goals from Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling put the Portuguese champions to the sword as City hit five at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
It was the fourteenth time the Premier League leaders had scored four times in a game this season and the third occasion in which they bagged five.
Guardiola, however, stressed that the overall team performance was far from perfect when speaking to reporters after the game.
"No [not a perfect performance],” he said.
“Some players underperformed and we lost easy balls but we were so clinical. We saw in the first five or six minutes how good [Sporting] are. The difference between the two teams is not 5-0 but we were so clinical. We punished them.
"There is one rule in football when you have the ball and that’s not to lose it. We had some simple passes that we lost. Against the top sides in Europe we would be punished.
"It is a fantastic team. They are the champions of Portugal. They have incredible runners. They have a good team but I am very pleased because we make a big step towards the next round.
"Wow, what a goal [from Bernardo Silva]. I always push him to say he needs to score more goals. He has everything and the ability to score more like he has today. I am pretty sure he is happy.
"It’s just a game with a fantastic result. We have one more game to be in the quarter-finals and this is what you want. The players know me and the way we work that we can do better. I’m incredibly happy, please don’t misunderstand me, but we can do better."
