Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City were moving closer to their best after beating Ipswich Town 6-0 at Portman Road on Sunday.
Phil Foden starred for City, scoring two goals and an assist in the first half, while Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and substitute James McAtee were also on target.
The result saw the Citizens jump from eighth to fourth place in the Premier League, having started 2025 with three wins in four games in all competitions.
City have now won 21 of their last 22 Premier League games against promoted sides (D1) since a 1-2 defeat to Leeds at the Etihad Stadium in April 2021.
In fact, City have won their last 12 matches against promoted sides 36-7, although Guardiola believes their last win was tougher than it looked.
“We are very happy, we are back to doing things that have defined this team for the last ten years,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.
“I'm very happy with the three points and the qualification for the Champions League for next season. That will be so tough.
“Much better. Maybe not our best, but better because of the consistency we have in our play. Most of that didn't happen in the previous games we won.”
“Without the way we went without the ball, you can't play in the short spaces. Everyone with the ball was smart, quicker, quicker. Everyone is related.
“You can't be fast, wise and good if you're disconnected defensively.
“Ipswich beat Chelsea here, they beat Spurs, they're a good team and Liam [Delap] is a fantastic striker. The players saw what we were and that's the best.”
Kieran McKenna, meanwhile, watched on as Ipswich conceded six goals in a match (all competitions) for the first time since November 2012 (a 6-0 defeat to Leicester City in the Championship), at Portman Road for the first time since then. February 2002 (a 6-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League).
In what is their sixth Premier League season, 2024-2025 is only the second season in which Ipswich have lost home and away to the reigning champions, having done so against Manchester United in 2001-02.
The Tractors Boys remain in the bottom three, with their goal difference now at -23. Only Leicester (-25) and Southampton (-35) are worse off.
However, McKenna believes his side can compete with the division's very best until May, despite their slow start to the season.
“Our opponents were much better than us,” McKenna said. “I thought there were a lot of positives at the start of the game. We could have scored the first goal.
“We were a bit open about the transitions with Haaland. Their quality took it away from us and we were punished by a top opponent.
“I don't think it's Premier League familiarity. We faced one of the best teams in the world and we have to keep striving to improve.
“We know the leap and the climb we have made. We are going to have some difficult days this year. If we don't accept it, we will see where we can do better, all together.
“There were some things that were good and some that were not. Next week Liverpool are away and we will have to show a lot of humility and keep pushing for more.
“You never know because we won against Chelsea and Tottenham, so you never know when your wins will come. We have to fight for every game.”
“We have to perform at our best every game and we were not able to do that today.
“We believe we can compete until the end of the season. We have 10 results so far.
“We didn't win as many as we would like. I trust the group to keep working and find the right response to this match and deliver a better performance next week.”
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