Pep gets his win, but urges his ‘Citizens’ to up their game to much greater heights

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola accepted his side “can be better” after a 1-0 win over West Ham at the Etihad on Wednesday kept them in the hunt to retain their Premier League title and a remarkable quadruple of trophies.

Just days after a penalty shootout win over Chelsea at Wembley saw City to victory in the League Cup final, Guardiola’s men were indebted to a 59th-minute spot-kick from Sergio Aguero for a victory that left the English champions a point behind leaders Liverpool With the League Cup already in their trophy cabinet, a City side also still involved in the FA Cup and Champions League could yet end the season having won a remarkable four major pieces of silverware in the one campaign. They didn’t make life easy for themselves on Wednesday and were indebted to what West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini labelled a “soft” penalty, awarded when Felipe Anderson made contact with City substitute Bernardo Silva, for giving Aguero the chance to score the lone goal.

“We played so well. You see the result, 1-0, you think it could be better,” said Guardiola.

“Of course we created an incredible amount of chances. The first five minutes could be 2-0, with three clear chances.”

Meanwhile, Pellegrini, who led City to the title in 2014, was adamant Anderson should not have been penalised.

“To be generous, it was a little soft,” said Pellegrini.

“I’m not happy with the result because it was not a penalty.” —

Of course we created an incredible amount of chances

Pep Guardiola