Pep Guardiola takes subtle swipe at Nottingham Forest over dry pitch as he claims Man City were 'so lucky' to escape from City Ground with three points

City had to scrap their way to an unconvincing 2-0 win over Forest and benefitted from some poor finishing from Forest striker Chris Wood and defender Murillo. And Guardiola said the home side only had themselves to blame for their profligacy due to the state of the pitch.

"In certain moments we suffered,” Guardiola said to BBC Match of the Day. "We were lucky today the pitch was so dry, because the chances they missed that was the reason why. We were lucky today that the pitch was in these conditions."

The City boss added: “If the pitch had have been better with the [Forest] fast players, it would have been better for them. That’s for sure.”

Guardiola also admitted that his side were far from their best against Forest. He said: "Really hard. Last season we draw and we played much better than today. Knowing the circumstances today. We knew the game today, we were so lucky. The last 30 mins, we suffered. When Kovacic came in, Bernardo, we were much better."

Guardiola had previously criticised Real Madrid for the state of the Santiago Bernabeu pitch after the Champions League quarter-final first leg with City.

Guardiola admitted his side would need to raise their performance level in their final four games of the season if they are to chase down Premier League leaders Arsenal and win a record fourth consecutive title. "Today was dangerous," he said. "If you have a quality performance, means we are who we are, you are closer to winning games."