Pep Guardiola has admitted that Manchester City struggled against Feyenoord in their Champions League encounter on Tuesday night.
The Citizens had to wait until the 88th minute of the game at the Etihad Stadium to find a breakthrough.
Raheem Sterling's chip over Brad Jones gave the hosts a 1-0 win and, combined with Shakhtar Donetsk's 3-0 loss to Napoli, top spot in Group F.
"It was so difficult, so complicated to find the space. Sometimes it happens," Guardiola told BT Sport after the game.
"The second half was much, much better. We had chances and we were able to win and we are top of the group. We are happy.
"We respect the competition, we respect Shakhtar and we respect Napoli. We have a lot of games, we will see what team we can play in the final game. Who knows what can happen."
The victory over Feyenoord was Guardiola's 50th win as Man City manager, in what was his 75th game in charge of the club.
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