Pep Guardiola told the haters never to write off his Manchester City team after they smashed Watford 8-0 on Saturday.
For City, it was the perfect response after the champions suffered a shock 3-2 Premier League to promoted Norwich last week.
City, who also beat Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final last May and have scored 33 goals against them in their last seven meetings, came within inches of equalling the record Premier League win – Manchester United’s 9-0 thrashing of Ipswich Town in 1995. But Kevin de Bruyne dragged a late chance wide.
Before that City ran riot, with Bernard Silva bagging a hattrick.
They took just 52 seconds to get off the mark, with De Bruyne unlocking Watford with a sublime pass for David Silva to break the deadlock.
Further goals from Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Nicolas Otamendi gave City a 5-0 lead in under 18 minutes – the fastest a team has scored five times in Premier League history.
HATTRICK HERO: Bernardo Silva. Picture: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters.
Bernardo Silva completed his hattrick to make it 7-0 and De Bruyne added an eighth.
Of his team, Guardiola says: “I said after Norwich that, if you doubt us, it is your problem, not mine.
PUMPED: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Picture: Phil Noble/Reuters.
“It can happen that you lose one game. If you analyse what these guys have done in the last two seasons, it is your problem, not mine.
“At Norwich, we conceded four shots on target and we had 15 or 20.
“Maybe you believe the team cannot lose games. Everyone can lose.
“What we have to do is play the way we have played these two seasons.”