Pep Guardiola has stated that Oxford United 'played so well' in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup clash with his Manchester City side.

The Citizens ran out 3-1 victors at the Kassam Stadium, but there was no reason for Karl Robinson's men to be down after what was a very impressive performance against the reigning Premier League champions.

Joao Cancelo opened the scoring for City, but Matty Taylor managed to equalise just a minute into the second-half. A Raheem Sterling double took the game from Oxford, but the amount of times the U's challenged City's backline and goal was something the League One side can take great pride from.

Guardiola expressed that they played very well and was impressed by how many chances they managed to create throughout the fixture.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Guardiola said: "Nervous is not the word, but they (Oxford) pushed a lot. They played so well and created a lot of chances.

"I congratulate them.

"Last season they played good, this season they were better."

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The Verdict

Oxford were very good throughout the fixture, and in that second-half could have scored a couple of goals. The U's really did the EFL proud and competed much better than some Premier League sides do against Guardiola's side.

It'll be interesting to see how much energy was taken out of the Oxford side ahead of a massive clash this weekend with table toppers Wycombe Wanderers.

If you're Robinson, and you hear Guardiola's praise to your side, you have to be delighted and take great pride in that. Coming from one of the best coaches in world football, it is a massive positive for this Oxford side, and could give them a season-defining confidence boost.