Guardiola refuses to get carried away as Shakhtar visit

Pep Guardiola is refusing to get carried away with the potential of his prolific Manchester City team as they prepare to welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to the Etihad today evening in the Champions League.

Free-scoring City have been outstanding in recent weeks, thrashing Liverpool, Watford and Crystal Palace in their last three Premier League games by an aggregate score of 16-0.

Combined with a 4-0 thrashing of Feyenoord in the opening Champions League group game, and a more modest 2-1 victory over West Brom in the Carabao Cup, City’s momentum since the last international break has been formidable.

We’re professionals and all the players are here to win games and when they win, their lives as professionals are better.

Spaniard Guardiola, when asked if the atmosphere in the camp had changed much in the past 12 months at his pre-match news conference, said: “Most of the players know it’s [only] September. The last [few] years, City always start good and after we look at the table.

“It’s just September, [it’s] game by game and we focus on all competitions now.

“The smiles were on our faces last season too. It’s easy. We’re winning. When [you’re] winning, it’s easier and all you [the media] are looking at and observing and saying that’s good, that’s good is because we are winning. So we have to keep doing that.

“That is the secret. We’re professionals and all the players are here to win games and when they win, their lives as professionals are better.”