Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City's recovery forces after their 3-1 win over Chelsea, saying taking more care in possession was the key to turning things around.
City's difficult spell looked set to go when a mistake from debutant Abdukodir Khusanov allowed Noni Madueke to put Chelsea ahead within three minutes.
However, Josko Gvardiol equalized late in the first half and City were comfortably the better team after the break, with Erling Haaland teeing up Robert Sanchez to make it 2-1 before Phil Foden killed the match late on.
The result saw City Leapfrog Chelsea finish fourth in the Premier League table as they battle to salvage Champions League qualification from a difficult season.
City are also fighting to stay in the current edition of UEFA's Top Club Competition, having suffered a 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday to leave their hopes of reaching the knockout stages in the balance.
“We have been struggling lately and it has been a difficult, difficult season. Most of the players have been here for eight or nine years and I am not going to change my opinion in two months,” Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day.
“We have to realize that what we are doing is not enough. I asked them to step up and we did it. We created enough chances to score goals and in the end I am really satisfied.
“Emotionally they came back incredibly well. Chelsea, we know the talent they have – it was really good. We were tired because we have an old team.
“We've had a tough period because playing Ipswich and then three days ago in Paris, it was really hard for us physically.”
City enjoyed 57% of possession on Saturday and won the expected goals to fight comfortably, with their 15 shots totaling 2.7 xg to Chelsea's 1.61 from 10 efforts.
Guardiola says being more in front of the ball was key, adding: “If we don't pass the ball we are one of the worst teams. We need the ball to survive.”
The City Boss also remains confident that Khusanov will be a hit in the Premier League despite a rolling debut.
His poor header in the build-up to Madueke's opener was the sixth mistake leading to a goal by a City player this season – twice as many as they committed in 2019-20.
He then earned a fourth-minute booking for chopping Cole Palmer, the earliest yellow card for a Premier League debutant since Cardiff City's Lee Peltier versus Bournemouth in 2018 (third minute).
Khusanov was replaced by John Stones after 54 minutes and Guardiola says that decision was made to protect him from a possible red card.
“It wasn't the best start. He knows it, but he will learn. He is so young. He will learn in the future,” Guardiola said.
“His substitution was for the yellow card. John was coming back from injury. When John arrived here he struggled in his first season.”
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