Pep Guardiola said Manchester City played better in the 3-0 pre‑season friendly win against Tottenham Hotspur than in any match last season.

City coasted to victory in Nashville, ending their pre-season tour of the United States in style after defeating Real Madrid 4-1 and losing 2-0 to Manchester United in their previous matches.

John Stones opened the scoring after 10 minutes before Raheem Sterling and the 17-year-old Brahim Díaz added late goals as City finished strongly.

“We haven’t dominated like today,” Guardiola said. “Last season we were good, but not in 90 minutes like that. We cannot forget which team we played. Tottenham for the most part of last season played the best football. It’s pre-season, but we didn’t have a performance like that last season.”

He also told the club’s website: “The results are good for confidence and the way we did it, our performance is good. I’m so satisfied, especially in the last two games.”

The City manager praised the performances of the new signings Kyle Walker, bought from Tottenham in a world record £53m deal for a defender, and Danilo, who arrived from Real Madrid for £26.5m, after they impressed in wing‑back roles. “You have the quality with Kyle and Danilo, they have that physicality,” he said.

Mauricio Pochettino accepted that Spurs were “a little bit behind” their opponents in terms of pre-season preparation. The manager also revealed that the club were working on adding to their squad, with no signings made so far this summer.

“Maybe today they have a little bit of an advantage, they are ahead of us because they have signed and kept the players that they want,” he said. “We are a little bit behind but working hard to sign some players who can make us more competitive. We prioritised training, and tried to get fit, over the result. It’s true you want to win but Manchester City were better than us. We lost and deserved to lose.”

City opened the scoring in Nashville when Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick flicked off the Tottenham wall and fell to the feet of the centre-back Stones, who made no mistake from close range. After Sergio Agüero had struck the woodwork twice, Sterling doubled the advantage with 16 minutes left. The England winger waltzed through an almost static Spurs defence and turned the ball past Michel Vorm.

Victory was completed in stoppage time when Tottenham failed to clear their lines and Díaz tapped home his second goal in two matches. City’s next game is against West Ham United in Iceland on Friday, while Tottenham will face Serie A champions Juventus at Wembley on Saturday.