Monday 5 December 2016 08:46, UK
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is not disheartened by the defeat to Chelsea on Saturday, because he believes his side is showing the sort of form they produced at the start of the season.
City made a superb start to life under Guardiola, winning their first six Premier League games of the campaign, before stuttering through October and early November.
They bounced back with 2-1 wins at Crystal Palace and Burnley, but Saturday's 3-1 home loss to Chelsea leaves them four points behind the table-topping Blues.
However, City dominated the first hour of the contest, before Diego Costa's equaliser changed the course of the match, and Guardiola says the performance of his side was encouraging.
"I am more satisfied with the way we played than the last two games away, when we won and we were happy [only] because we won," Guardiola said. "In that moment there was a worry.
"I said to the players, 'Guys we have to start to play better, like in the beginning of the season. Be free in your mind, play, take the ball, be aggressive with the ball. It doesn't matter what happens, play in attack'.
"They did it, and did it I think quite well, but we didn't win, so we always have something to improve.
"In football at that level you cannot expect to have 15-20 chances, it is impossible, but we had a lot. The problem is you have to put the ball inside (the goal)."
Guardiola stuck with a three-man defence but denied that the system or the personnel (on this occasion John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and Aleksandar Kolarov) were to blame for the concession of three goals to Chelsea in the last half-hour.
Guardiola added: "We didn't lose for defensive problems, if you analyse it. I have always believed in my career we concede few goals because we dominate through the ball possession, creating chances, and playing far away.
"We can insist on playing better and better and, when we play better, we will concede fewer chances and we will score more goals. But Chelsea are clinical, they are so good."
City's top scorer Sergio Aguero is facing a four-match ban after a wild tackle on David Luiz in the closing stages of Saturday's game.
But Guardiola is keen to move on from the incident and said: "He is sent off. We are going to accept the ban and keep going."
