“We were knocked out” – Pep Guardiola slams key aspect of Manchester City’s display against Borussia Dortmund | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was unconvinced with his side’s start to their 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening.

The visitors dominated proceedings at the Etihad Stadium early on and City struggled to match the intensity of Niko Kovac and co but quickfire goals from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland in the space of seven minutes gave the hosts a two-goal lead by the half-hour mark.

Foden made in three in sumptuous fashion after 57 minutes and after Dortmund pulled one back late on, substitute Rayan Cherki added a fourth for Manchester City in the closing minutes to put the icing on the cake.

City face their biggest test of the season on Sunday as Liverpool visit the Etihad Stadium and Guardiola has called upon his group to learn from their disappointing start to the win over Dortmund, which took the Blues to fourth place in the UEFA Champions League group-phase rankings.

“We were knocked out in the first 10, 15 minutes,” Guardiola said in an interview with TNT Sports after the game. “We didn’t know where we were.

“Especially because they (Borussia Dortmund) put six players up front against four (defenders) and they put a lot of quick players there.”

Guardiola was asked about Haaland’s heroics in front of goal and the Manchester City manager admitted he is running out of superlatives for the Norwegian forward.

“Every time I come here to the press conference you give me another record and another record (broken by Haaland) this is the truth. (I’m) happy for him, he deserves it,” Guardiola added.

Manchester City have won 10 of their last 13 games in all competitions and Guardiola is keen to maintain his side’s rich vein of form when Liverpool come into town this weekend.

“They’ve been our biggest rivals in the last nine, 10 years so it’s not necessary to say how good they are. But we’re ready. Now, tomorrow (Thursday) training, recover, one day off, and prepare the game as best as possible,” Guardiola said on Sunday’s Premier League showdown.

“We talked a lot about this week, how important it was and we’ve handled it really, really well. And it’s a pleasure to face them, and with our people, our fans – I know how much it means – and hopefully we can do a good game.

“To be honest, I’m so excited and happy to live what I’m going to prepare for the game on Sunday, I’m looking forward desperately to play on Sunday again against Liverpool, and we’ll see what happens.”

City cannot afford the lousy start they made against Dortmund when they face Liverpool, who have started to turn a corner – after a horrid run of form – with eye-catching wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid in the last week – ahead of their visit to the Etihad Stadium.