Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has played down suggestions that his side should have cruised to victory against Chelsea on Sunday.

City were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw by the managerless Blues at the Etihad Stadium.

Tijjani Reijnders gave the hosts the lead in the first half, but Enzo Fernández struck late on to earn Chelsea a valuable point.

Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, Guardiola rejected claims that City lost control of the contest after the break.

“I don’t agree [that City lost control]. They scored a goal and that is why you analyse the result,” Guardiola said. “Of course they made a step up and were more intense in the pressing and they had chances because we lost two balls at the beginning of the second half. But if you believe they shifted the momentum, ok. You maybe know better.”

The City boss also stressed the quality of Chelsea’s squad, insisting sustained dominance against such opponents is unrealistic.

“Chelsea is a world champions team. It is not academy players there. Top-class players. So to have control for 90 minutes against a team like that is so, so difficult,” he added.

Guardiola pointed to missed opportunities as the decisive factor, noting that City failed to capitalise on several promising situations.

“We missed chances in the second half, four or five actions of two versus one or three versus two. Our talented players tried to finish the game but we could not do that.

“It is what it is. When you look at the stats across all departments, one key area is how effective you are in the final third. In general, how we defended, how we ran, how we played, was extraordinary.”