Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists his side must take the remainder of the season on a "game-by-game" basis after the disappointment of their goalless draw with Stoke City on Wednesday.

City's title chances were effectively ended by the well-organised Potters, who limited Guardiola's charges to one shot on target in 90 minutes at the Etihad Stadium - Aleksandar Kolarov's first-half free-kick.

The point leaves the Citizens 10 points from Premier League leaders Chelsea as they squandered the chance to move above Tottenham Hotspur into second, moving level on points with Spurs but with a lesser goal difference.

Asked about the sizeable gap between City and front-runners -and champions elect - Chelsea, having now played the same number of games, Guardiola responded: "The gap was big and still is big, before and now.

"What I said in the last press conference, we have to focusing game-by-game because it will be tough until the end. We are going to fight for the next games.

"10 points, we have one less game [to close the gap]. We're going to see what happens in the next games.

"When the gap is like this you have to focus, not on the big targets, but on winning the next game and that's Middlesbrough [in the cup]."

Guardiola: City's home form is not up to standard, we will analyse it

This was City's fourth home draw in the Premier League this season but the first time that they have failed to score in front of their own fans under Guardiola's tutelage.

The Spaniard admitted that their results "are much better away than at home" and said: "Maybe next season it will be the opposite, you can never control that. We dropped points but we have to analyse the way we did.

"I remember Southampton here, the other ones we were much, much better like today. In the first-half of course we had problems to create our game because they [Stoke] defended aggressive and deep, a lot of people, our strikers stay there and don't move.

"Always it is complicated to find the players between the lines. The second-half was much better and we created enough chances to score goals of course.

"The goalkeeper from Stoke City [Lee Grant] didn't save too much and we didn't shoot in the net, but we were there in the last minute. The shot from Sergio where the central defender [deflected it] out.

"Okay, sometimes our indecision, but I don't have regrets about how they run, how they fight, with a lot of games in our legs.

"Now the most important thing is forget about that and recover and then we play in two cup competitions, in the FA Cup and the Champions League. We play to go through."

Our final ball let us down, laments City boss

Guardiola, asked whether he felt the lack of movement from the likes of Sergio Agüero, Leroy Sané and Jesús Navas proved costly, continued: "It is not easy when the opponents are there. We tried to find space, especially in the first-half, we made actions on the counter-attack.

"I think we were not bringing the last pass. We created a lot of situations where players like Kevin [De Bruyne] and Yaya [Touré] and even Fernandinho in that situation with the last pass and we missed it, as has sometimes happened this season.

"When David Silva came in, we were able to have more control and pass between each other enough to create more chances in the last minutes.

"Of course then players were there to be worried about the counter-attack because of their strikers are so good at keeping the ball, it is not easy.

"We tried. When you analyse the chances we had, especially in the last moments, how they had, we had in the first-half one when Gaël [Clichy] slipped but the others, I don't remember another one.

"Sometimes this has happened this season, like Tottenham, like Chelsea, like a lot of other games, we were not able to score a goal."

Squad rotation is necessary and not us changing focus to the cups, insists Guardiola

Guardiola opted to rest the in-form attacking duo of Silva - who was benched - and Raheem Sterling - who was dropped from the 18 altogether - while John Stones also started on the bench.

On whether that reflected a change of priorities to the cup competitions, with City in the FA Cup last eight and leading by two goals after the first-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, Guardiola added: "No, the priority is the next game and we play for the next game.

"The rotations are good when you get a result. Successful rotation, you are brilliant, without a result, not. All these competitions, is a lot of games. In two days and a half, we have another one, and its away because our draws always this season, we never play at home.

"We play away and we have to use all the players. I would like to use more like Fabian [Delph] or other ones. The last game we didn't play Kevin [De Bruyne] for example, in the beginning, he played today so we have to use it in this calendar with a lot of games.

"After that, in three or four days we travel to France to play against AS Monaco and then after three or four days we have Liverpool here. It's almost impossible to play the same eleven.

"When you have one game a week you can play eleven players no problem, but if you have so many games like us you have to make a rotation. If not, it will be so difficult."

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.