The Ivorian midfielder remains convinced that the Catalan will deliver success at the Etihad, even though his first season has been difficult

Yaya Toure insists Manchester City can win trophies with manager Pep Guardiola’s style of play, despite their Champions League exit this week.

City crashed out of the competition on away goals to Ligue 1 team Monaco, the tie ending 6-6 on aggregate after City – who made the semis last season – held a 5-3 lead from the first leg.

Guardiola’s side are also 10 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, a gap that could be 13 by the time they take to the field at home to top-four rivals Liverpool on Sunday.

Yaya: City can be like Utd & Barca

But after City were heavily criticised in the wake of the Monaco loss, Toure disagrees with suggestions they will not be able to win trophies under Guardiola’s free-flowing style.

“Of course we can win trophies playing this way,” he told the Times of India. 

“Why not? We know we can score goals and we just have to keep going.

“You have to be ready for [criticism] and you have to be used to that. We know that some people are waiting for us to fail so what we have to do is to try and keep going, keep working hard. 

“That is what you have to do to be a winner. We are playing well in the Premier League and we have to continue.”

Guardiola not ready to go defensive

Asked if the same strategy will be deployed against Liverpool, the 33-year-old added: “Yes. This is the way we play and if we play like that we are going to have more and more fans. 

“Even when we are winning we continue to attack. From the beginning of the season until now we have always showed we want to attack and score goals, that is the most important thing. 

“The new manager is all about attack. Sometimes when you play this way you can make a mistake but mistakes are part of the game.”