Manchester: Pep Guardiola hailed his side’s mental strength as Sergio Aguero’s expert hat-trick helped Manchester City beat Newcastle United 3-1 in a win that restored their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

After losing 4-3 against Liverpool the previous weekend, this Etihad Stadium contest was always likely to ask questions of City’s squad and their ability to return to winning ways after the Anfield defeat ended their remarkable unbeaten start to the season.

Yet any fears City fans might have had about the desire of Guardiola’s squad to win the title were put to bed on Saturday after the brilliant Aguero bagged the match ball from a fixture where City ran Newcastle ragged.

Guardiola was especially pleased with the way his team managed to recover from their stumble on Merseyside.

“The players reacted really well with huge personality,” the City manager said.

“We created chances, we scored goals and we conceded few chances and we avoided two bad results in a row. I don’t know what is going to happen (in the rest of the season) but I don’t have to be convinced of the incredible players we have.”

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach added: “When we lost 4-3 against Liverpool, we congratulated Jurgen Klopp and his team and moved forward.

“Always after the defeat against Liverpool, you have a little bit of doubt about how you would react. We need mathematically 10 victories to be champions. We are going to try game by game.”

Agence France-Presse