Man City boss Pep Guardiola “pleased” with 5-0 thrashing of Brighton and Hove Albion.

England international Raheem Sterling’s treble on the south coast helped Guardiola’s Citizens seal three points.

Man City boss Guardiola delighted with his side’s display at the Amex [Sky Sports Screen Shot]

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he was “pleased” with his team’s performance in their 5-0 thrashing of Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday night.

The Citizens put five past the Seagulls at the Amex Community Stadium, thanks to a Raheem Sterling hat-trick and goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva.

City had lost their three previous away league games, including a defeat at Southampton last Sunday, but from the get-go yesterday they were keen not to make losing points on the road a habit.

After a Brighton side that did not manage a single shot on target, were completely outclassed, Guardiola told Sky Sports: "I was pleased with everything tonight - the result and the levels we reached. We are now at a good level and are ready to play the last games of the Premier League and in the Champions League.

"We've forgotten the Southampton result (1-0 defeat last Sunday) as we played incredibly well there. Football sometimes is strange. We just didn't score there. We're a team who create a lot of chances and today we converted them."

More: Raheem Sterling says “it's great to bounce back with an away win.”

On England forward Raheem Sterling, who scored his second hat-trick of the campaign, the ex-Barcelona coach said: "For a long time, he has been getting better. His finishing, his shooting and that's because he trains hard. It's good for us to have him at the end of the season."

Raheem Sterling has scored 27 goals in all competitions for Manchester City this season. [Sky Sports Screen Shot]

On Gabriel Jesus scoring twice in a week after failing to hit the back of the net since February, he replied: "He fought well. Before he scored, we had been delighted with his performances. Tonight he didn't just get his goal, he made lots of good chances too. It's unbelievable that he's scored."

The victory against Brighton means City have mathematically secured a top-four finish in the Premier League with three games left to play, but, they have to wait until Monday to confirm whether their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a two-year European ban will be successful.

The Spaniard added: "We've qualified for the Champions League which was the minimum requirement for this club. And these players have done it for the last six or seven years. 

"We won it on the pitch and hopefully on Monday Uefa will allow these players to play next season.

"They deserve to be in the Champions League."

Manchester City have won their last two Premier League games by 5+ goals, the first time this has happened in the Premier League since City themselves did so in September 2017.

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