Pep Guardiola has refuted Bernardo Silva's claim that Manchester City have fallen into a "dark place" after being thrashed 4-1 by Sporting Lisbon.

City were handed their heaviest defeat in over four years as incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim masterminded a thumping victory at the Jose Alvalade Stadium on Tuesday, which included a hat-trick by former Coventry striker Viktor Gyokeres.

It was City's third defeat in seven days, having lost to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and Bournemouth in the Premier League last week, and also their first reverse in the Champions League - excluding a penalty shoot-out - since 2022.

Silva told reporters after the game that the team must do some soul-searching.

Bernardo Silva

"It's disappointing because we're a bit in a dark place right now," the Portugal international told TNT Sports. "Everything looks to be going in the wrong way.

"Even when we are playing well we don't score our chances and we concede too easily.

"We definitely need to look inside and check what we're not doing well, and we need to get better very quickly otherwise it will be very difficult to come back from these losses."

Guardiola, though, had a more optimistic outlook and insisted he was relishing the challenge of bouncing back.

The City boss, who takes his side to Brighton on Saturday, said: "I don't agree with him. We are not in the dark side.

"We played really bad against Bournemouth but really good here. The only regret is conceding the third and fourth - the penalties were not necessary.

"We knew it would be a tough season at the start and this is what it is. I like it, I love it, I want to face it and lift my players. Life is like this. We continue.

"What should we do? We go back to Manchester and prepare for the game at Brighton. I won't give up, that's for sure."

Additional reporting by Press Association.