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Pep Guardiola remarkably claimed that some of his Manchester City players ‘underperformed’ in the stunning rout of Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night.

City all but secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a sensational 5-0 demolition of Sporting in the Portuguese capital.

Bernardo Silva, one of four former Benfica players booed loudly by the home fans, led the way with two goals in a one-sided first-leg clash at the Jose Arvalade Stadium.

Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling also struck, continuing their rich veins of goalscoring form, while Phil Foden claimed another and Silva was denied a hat-trick by VAR.

And speaking to BT Sport after the game, Guardiola said: “No [not a perfect performance]. 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’re 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.

“I’d rather score the goal Sterling scored than Silva did.”

“Why?”

Two sublime strikes, but which one do you think was better? @rioferdy5 and @JoleonLescott are in different camps here! #UCL pic.twitter.com/fFgLC3VXiI

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 15, 2022

“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.”

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Silva happy to sink Benfica rivals

Silva was equally delighted with the result in his homeland, adding: “It was a very good performance. In the first half we were in that mood to win 4-0. We were a bit sloppy which gave them the opportunity to counter-attack but we were very clinical. You need some luck as well. We are very happy with the win. To win 5-0 away is a great result and it’s a great performance.

“Sometimes you play better than we did in that first half and we have gone in 0-0. We can always still improve.

“I am Portuguese and I’m from the other side of the city so it was special to score here in my hometown. It was nice to start the last 16 with a 5-0 win. It’s always an extra motivation to come here to Lisbon in such an important game. There is still a job to do in Manchester. We cannot relax.

“It was a great goal and I’m happy to help the team. You have to keep going. 2-0 is better than 3-0. 4-0 is better than 3-0. You cannot relax. We try to do our best no matter what the score is.

“Was I very offside? It would have been great to score a hat-trick but I’m happy with two goals!”

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