Nacer Chadli admitted it was an uphill battle for us after Sergio Aguero scored Manchester City’s third goal at the Etihad on Saturday.
The Argentine forward completed his treble from the penalty spot after Federico Fazio was dismissed, putting daylight between the sides at 3-1 after Roberto Soldado was denied an equaliser by Joe Hart – also from the spot – at the other end.
Christian Eriksen had earlier cancelled out Aguero’s opener, before the City striker completed a 4-1 victory for his side with 15 minutes remaining.
“The last 15 or 20 minutes were difficult,” said Nacer, who was a key figure in an attacking unit that caused the home side problems on a number of occasions with some intelligent forward play.
“There were some moments that could have changed the game and going forward we created chances, but we had to get more control of the game.
“We looked very dangerous when we were attacking but it’s not enough. We have to be sharper and score the goals.”