Pep Guardiola said his side “were not stable enough” after they capitulated in Lisbon to lose 4-1 to Sporting in the Champions League.

The Premier League champions had taken the lead inside four minutes through Phil Foden, and were by far the better side for much of the first half, but ceded all control after Viktor Gyokeres equalised with the first of his three goals.

The City boss rued his side’s missed chances, but did not make excuses for the loss, citing a need for his side to improve if they want to arrest their recent slide in form.

“Cannot say much when you lose 4-1. Congratulations to Sporting Lisbon for the game,” he said.

“We had a fantastic first half, now we are struggling to score. We create and concede when the opponents don’t do much.”

“The first half was really good, we scored a goal, but every pass, the simple things we missed sometimes.

“It can happen. After the third and the fourth we have to avoid it. Emotionally we were not stable enough and in this competition you have to be stable. At 2-1, many things can happen. We have to be emotionally more stable.”

Guardiola’s view that right now is a “difficult moment” for his side was echoed by Bernardo Silva, who captained City on the night and like his manager, the midfielder kept perspective.

“It's disappointing because we're a bit in a dark place right now” Silva said.

“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.

"The good thing is even though we have lost these three games we are still in a good position especially in the Premier League. After losing three games we are still in the main competitions fighting for everything. But we need to better, obviously.”

Kevin De Bruyne returned late on in a big boost for City, but Silva wants the likes of Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and others to come back soon.

"Our injured players need to come back because we need them and it's just not good enough tonight."

Next up for Guardiola’s side is a tricky trip to Brighton on Saturday, as he looks to avoid losing four games in a row for just a second time in his managerial career.