Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola defends players after derby defeat

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to criticise his players following their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in Saturday's local derby.

The Sky Blues were forced to wait another week to wrap up the league title after squandering a two-goal lead at the Etihad Stadium, but the Spaniard felt that his team's performance was satisfactory.

Guardiola went on to say that he is now focusing on firing his players up for next Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool, a tie in which they are trailing 3-0 on aggregate.

"We did everything, the quality was really good. The first half the game was almost won we were almost there, in 10 minutes they recovered," Guardiola told Sky Sports News.

"A little sad for fans and players, we will try to be in a good mood next Tuesday."

City's next opportunity to wrap up the title will come on April 14 when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur.