Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists his side still have work to do despite their impressive 3-1 away victory in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Dynamo Kyiv.
Goals from Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure helped put City into a commanding position at the halfway point in the clash, as the north-west club bid to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club competition for the very first time.
The Citizens will fancy their chances of securing a place in the last eight when the second leg takes place at the Etihad Stadium on March 15, but Pellgrini has warned his team that their job is far from complete.
“I am very happy. It is an important result, but it is not finished,” he said. “I think the worst thing we can do is to think that because we won 3-1 away the game at home is finished.”
The impressive first-leg performance also vindicated the Chilean’s decision to rest a number of first-team players for last weekend’s FA Cup exit at the hands of Chelsea and he admits that his hands were tied, with City facing a backlog of fixtures over the coming weeks.
“I think in this profession you always get criticism when you don’t win but for the manager it is important to take the right decision.,” he added.
“I always try to respect all the competitions but in this case – having just 13 fit (outfield) players – it was a key decision to rest the team in that game.”
City are next in action when they take on Liverpool in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday and they are 1.61 favourites to secure the first piece of silverware this season, whilst the Reds are on offer at 2.20.
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