Saturday 20 August 2016 17:44, UK
Graeme Souness believes Man City have plenty of room for improvement despite registering a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Stoke on Saturday.
Sergio Aguero and Nolito scored twice each at the bet365 Stadium to ensure Pep Guardiola's first Premier League away game ended in victory.
But two of Man City's four goals came in the final four minutes and Souness felt the visitors were not at their best despite the one-sided score-line.
"The manager will be delighted with the result," Souness said on Sky Sports. "The performance was iffy and Guardiola will be saying to himself, 'We can win 4-1 without being anywhere near our best'.
"He will be encouraged by that.
"Pep is famous for his teams keeping the ball and they didn't do that very well in the second half. They were scrappy and they over-hit passes on a number of occasions.
"How many times did we count the ball being kicked out of play? Raheem Sterling had a few of those, and it was general sloppy passing.
"The only excuse you can offer up is it was windy out there, but even considering that they should have done better.
"There is plenty of work to do for them but they have come away from home, and it's never an easy place at Stoke, and won 4-1 without being at their best."
Referee Mike Dean awarded a penalty to either side for similar incidents, penalising Ryan Shawcross for Stoke and Raheem Sterling for Man City, and Souness was encouraged by the official's decision to clamp down on shirt-pulling at corners.
"Shawcross has got history pulling shirts, holding on to people and he has got to be very careful, like others playing in the Premier League," Souness added. "The referees know who the culprits are.
"I just hope referees are consistent now. It makes for a better game and more goals. I hope the other referees see that and all go down that road. The players have to learn."
