Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has called on his team to be more clinical and believes their current form in front of goal means they’re not ready to win the Champions League.
Guardiola’s side have claimed 2-0 victories in their past three games, with Crystal Palace the latest team to succumb to City on Saturday.
While the win closed the gap on Liverpool to six points, they could have won by a greater margin with a number of opportunities going begging at Selhurst Park.
City boasted 72 per cent possession against Palace and registered 21 shots, with the manager not impressed by the fact they could only score two goals.
Though eyeing a third straight Premier League title, the club have made no secret of their Champions League ambition – something their manager does not believe can be fulfilled now.
“The people say about the Champions League, that target. We still are not ready,” Guardiola said.
“We create a lot, don’t concede, but can improve. We’ve scored a lot over the last two seasons and I don’t have doubts about that, but we have to keep going, work on that.
“We missed a lot of chances and also lost a lot of chances in the box [against Palace]. We have to be clinical.”
City have begun their latest Champions League season with consecutive wins and face Atalanta on Tuesday night at the Etihad.
While unhappy with Man City’s lack of cutting edge on Saturday, Pep Guardiola did praise the fighting spirit of Gabriel Jesus, who started in place of Sergio Aguero.
With a new man leading the line, City also used an experimental backline against Palace with Fernandinho and Rodri converted to centre-backs.
“It’s an option – Rodri can play there,” he said. “When we decide to do it we’ll have more midfield players on the pitch and we did it. I don’t know what is going to happen in the future but he convinced me as an alternative.”
