'Napoli are one of the best I've ever faced'

City flew into an early two-goal lead but there was no danger of the match turning into a rout, with Napoli getting back into the game in the second half as well as missing a penalty.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola could barely contain his happiness with the win, saying that he was more proud of the victory than any other in his managerial career.

"They are one of the best teams I have ever faced as a professional, as a player, as a trainer. That is why I am so proud with what we have done," he said.

"You cannot beat Napoli - it is impossible to beat them, if you do not make a good performance and we did it. That is why I am so happy. I am pretty sure they are one of the best teams in Europe in this moment."

The Spaniard admitted that his side's performance wasn't perfect, but explained that against the quality of Napoli, they were never going to be able to control the game for the full 90 minutes.

"I didn't expect to control for 90 minutes because Napoli are an exceptional team. We made a good first half, for 30-35 mintues. We scored the two goals, we started really good, we could have made a third or a fourth," Guardiola pointed out.

"After that when we were a bit tired we were not able to finish our counter-attacks. We arrived late for our pressing and they have a big ability to make short passes inside and outside."

City now go into the return fixture in Naples in two weeks' time knowing that a point will be enough for them to rech the knockout stages with two games to spare.

Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri said that he was pleased with his side's fighting spirit and insisted that there were positives to take from the defeat.

"We managed to fight back and not many teams at the moment are able to come back in the way we did and cause difficulties for Man City," he explained.

"We regret the fact we missed the first penalty, but we know now that we are on the right path to be competitive in Europe."