“We are really happy because we played the kind of performance we have been doing in the last 10 years, and we are happy to get the three points and be in the Champions League places next season,” Guardiola told Sky Sports after the match.

The Spanish coach added: “We performed much better, and it may not have been our best level, but we are close to a state of technical stability in our level, and we did not show this performance in a number of previous matches that we won.

Guardiola went on to praise his rivals Ipswich Town , saying: “They won at this stadium against Chelsea , they won away against Nottingham, they are a special team, they have a good striker (Liam Delap), but we played our best.”

Guardiola concluded his statements: “My players performed well, and they are fully aware of what we achieved in the past seasons. It has nothing to do with the results, whether winning or losing, but rather presenting an enjoyable performance.”

With this victory, Manchester City jumped to fourth place with 38 points, ahead of Nottingham Forest and Arsenal with 44 points, then Liverpool in the lead with 50 points and a postponed match.