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    Manchester City news: Pep Guardiola pleased with 'togetherness' of his side after Norwich win

    Planet Sport writerStaff Writer12 February 2022
    Pep Guardiola praised his side's "togetherness" after beating Norwich City

    Pep Guardiola praised his side's "togetherness" after beating Norwich City

    Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 12 points on Saturday afternoon, after sealing a 4-0 win against Norwich.

    Raheem Sterling stole the show, netting a perfect hat-trick en route to claiming the three points.

    The England international hadn't scored in six games, but in a heavily rotated Manchester City side, he stood head and shoulders above his teammates.

    The visitors were forced to wait half an hour before opening the scoring, with a confident Norwich side proving hard to break down.

    However, Sterling eventually opened the scoring, and Phil Foden added to their lead just three minutes after half time.
    Two late goals sealed Sterling's hat-trick, but only after the 27-year-old followed up on his missed penalty.

    The win restored City's 12 point lead over Liverpool in the league, and City manager Pep Guardiola was delighted with his side's performance.

    "We are going to expect to have difficulties in the Premier League. We arrived here in the best form of Norwich," said the Spaniard.
    "They had one or two chances but before that we have two or three chances to get a clear advantage.
    "It helped us by scoring the second so early, it helped us control the game. I was very pleased with the performance of all the team, the togetherness has shown again, this is important but of course they could have scored a goal but in general we had many more chances than them."
    When asked about Sterling's superb performance, Guardiola was full of praise.
    "For his confidence it will be massive, the first goal is brilliant, when Raheem executes without thinking he is excellent," he said.
    "I am so happy for him because strikers need to score for confidence for the next games. The second goal was a good cross, Ruben (Dias) was brilliant and was there but in general he (Sterling) was active and made good touches.
    "He had a fantastic game, especially after the goal he was confident and more aggressive, direct and scored a fantastic goal.
    "He has been an incredibly important player in all these seasons, with all the goals and assists and when he has confidence he's a really, really important player."

    Dean Smith left unhappy with late penalty

    Dean Smith, manager of Norwich City
    As for Norwich, their 15th defeat of the season means they stay 18th and in the relegation zone.

    They entered the clash full of confidence having gone three games unbeaten in the league, but Dean Smith was left frustrated at his side's defending in the second half.

    "A tough night, I'm frustrated with the manner of the goals we conceded," he said.
    "We can't legislate for mistakes, they happen. We stayed in the game and had a couple of chances ourselves.
    "The moments were few and far between against a team that control possession really well but the second goal probably killed the game for me, it flattened the atmosphere.
    "It was just a poor goal to concede and a poor time to concede it as well. We felt at 1-0 we would get more opportunities in the second half and you have to stay in these games as long as you can."
    Smith also added his thoughts on City's late penalty - a decision he labelled "pathetic".
    "It is never a penalty, and I told Andre Marriner afterwards it was a pathetic decision.
    "That has never been a penalty, it does not seem to bother the officials to give penalties at 3-0."

    READ MORE: Manchester United news: Ralf Rangnick frustrated at 'wrong decisions' during Southampton clash

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