Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his players can do much better despite a record-breaking 5-0 win over Sporting CP in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
City became the first team in Champions League history to lead an away knockout match by four goals at the break after a brace from Bernardo Silva and strikes from Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden.
Raheem Sterling added a sublime fifth after the interval as City racked up the joint-biggest winning margin in a Champions League knockout game.
It was also the Premier League champions' biggest ever win in an away game in any round of the competition.
While acknowledging his side's ruthlessness in front of goal, Guardiola did criticise his side for giving the ball away cheaply.
Asked if it was a perfect performance, Guardiola told BT Sport: "No. Some players underperformed and we lost easy balls, but we were so clinical.
"We saw in the first five or six minutes how good Sporting are. The difference between the two teams is not 5-0 but we were so clinical. We punished them.
"There is one rule in football when you have the ball and that's not to lose it. We had some simple passes that we lost. Against the top sides in Europe we would be punished.
"It's just a game with a fantastic result. We have one more game to be in the quarter-finals and this is what you want but the players know with me and the way we work that we can do better.
"I'm incredibly happy, please don't misunderstand me, but we can do better."
Lisbon-born Silva, who started his career at Sporting's city rivals Benfica, registered his first goals in the Champions League since netting in the last 16 in last year's competition.
Indeed, five of his eight Champions League goals for the Citizens have come in this round.
But despite City's commanding lead, the 27-year-old insisted they will not take next month's second leg lightly.
"I am Portuguese and I'm from the other side of the city so it was special to score here in my hometown," he said.
"It was nice to start the last 16 with a 5-0 win. It's always an extra motivation to come here to Lisbon in such an important game. There is still a job to do in Manchester. We cannot relax.
"It was a very good performance. In the first half we were in that mood to win 4-0. We were a bit sloppy which gave them the opportunity to counter-attack but we were very clinical.
"You need some luck as well. We are very happy with the win. To win 5-0 away is a great result and it's a great performance.
"Sometimes you play better than we did in that first half and we have gone in 0-0. We can always still improve."
City are next in action on Saturday when they host Tottenham in the Premier League.
Olympiacos 2-0 Aston Villa (6-2 agg): Villans fall in last four as El Kaabi strikes again
Olympiacos will face Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final after an Ayoub El Kaabi double secured a 6-2 aggregate win over Aston Villa.
After a stunning 4-2 win at Villa Park last weekend to take the ascendancy in the semi-final tie, first-leg hat-trick hero El Kaabi struck early before netting again late on to stamp out any hopes of a Villa comeback.
After a strong start from the visitors, El Kaabi scored his fourth goal of the tie just 10 minutes into Thursday's second leg at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki, getting on the end of Quini's low cross to turn home at the far post.
It looked an uphill battle for Villa, who dominated the possession throughout the contest in Greece but struggled to make a dent in the stubborn hosts.
Douglas Luiz saw a long-range effort saved by Kostas Tzolakis while the Olympiacos goalkeeper also denied Moussa Diaby. El Kaabi made sure late on, getting on the end of a long ball to fire past Martinez and secure Olympiacos' final berth.
The fairytale comeback never materialised for Villa, and it will be Olympiacos who take on Fiorentina at the Agia Sophia Stadium in the Greek capital of Athens on May 29, looking to utilise familiar surroundings to claim their first major European trophy.
Data debrief
El Kaabi was the hero again for Olympiacos as his two second-leg finishes took him to 10 Europa Conference League goals for the campaign, more than any other player, while his 13 strikes in major European competitions are also more than any other player when factoring in his three Europa League goals.
Villa had 73.9 per cent of the ball in the second leg, yet their 1.14 xG (expected goals) was still inferior to Olympiacos' 1.23 as the Greek Super League side's ruthlessness clinched their spot in the final.
Dyche demands 'maximum effort' as the minimum requirement from Everton
Sean Dyche is demanding maximum effort as the minimum requirement from Everton when they host already relegated Sheffield United this weekend.
Despite another nervy season at Goodison Park, during which they were deducted six points following a breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules, the Toffees have secured their top-flight status for another year at least.
Everton are enjoying a strong end to the campaign with last weekend's 1-1 draw at Luton Town extending their unbeaten run to four matches, and Dyche is not expecting his players to rest on their laurels.
"I want us to perform and at least give everything, as we did at Luton," he said.
"You can’t always guarantee you are brilliant. But you can guarantee you give everything, and that was on show again this past weekend.
"The minimum requirement is maximum effort. It hasn’t changed, we want to take that into Goodison and hope we play a little bit better with the ball, and hopefully score some more goals."
Dyche also saluted the impact of the younger members of his squad, with eight players aged 25 or under appearing 10 or more times during a testing season.
"There are a lot of challenges for these players," he added. "But they are beginning to come together as a group, and we have seen that. It has rewarded us, of course, and the fans."
However, their opponents' focus is already on next season, with their immediate return to the Championship confirmed.
In an English top-flight campaign of 38 games or less, only Darwen (112 in 1891-92) and Leicester City (102 in 1908-09) have conceded more goals than the Blades (100).
Chris Wilder knows there is plenty of work to do in United's quest to bounce straight back into the Premier League, but believes the close season will allow him the opportunity to get them in the best shape possible.
"I'll have time to put my own stamp on it," he said. "I'll have time to sign players that I know are going to be good and have a strong enough mentality to do it.
“Defensively and from set-plays and everything else, there's an incredible amount of work to do. We can't do that at the moment because it's difficult, but we will do it, and we'll get it right in terms of those aspects of the game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton – Jordan Pickford
The Everton goalkeeper has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season – including one in each of the Toffees’ last four home games – with only Arsenal’s David Raya recording more (15)
It is Pickford’s second-highest tally of shutouts in a single campaign after 2018-19 (14).
Sheffield United – Ben Brereton
Despite only joining the club in January, the Chile international has scored the most Premier League goals for the Blades this season (six).
Brereton’s rate of a goal every 158 in the second-best by a United player in a single campaign (minimum 500 minutes) after Nathan Blake in 1993-94 (a goal every 145 minutes).
MATCH PREDICTION: EVERTON
Everton have responded to their 6-0 defeat at Chelsea last month by embarking on a four-match unbeaten streak (winning three, drawing one).
By contrast, United have lost each of their last five games, and are only the second side in Premier League history to concede 100 or more goals during a single campaign after Swindon Town in 1993-94.
While the Toffees have lost their final home league match in just one of the last eight seasons (winning six, drawing one), the Blades have lost their final away game in each of their last four Premier League campaigns.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Everton: 54.1%
Sheffield United: 19.3%
Draw: 26.6%
Knicks salute 'warrior' Brunson after inspirational injury return in Pacers win
Jalen Brunson was hailed "a warrior" by team-mate Donte DiVincenzo after his return from injury inspired the New York Knicks to a second-half turnaround against the Indiana Pacers.
The Knicks ran out 130-121 winners in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-final series.
Things did not look good for the hosts, who also lost OG Anunoby in the third quarter to a hamstring injury, as Brunson was forced to exit during the first quarter with a foot problem.
However, with the Knicks trailing 73-63 at half-time, the point guard received a raucous ovation from the home supporters as he returned to warm up in a bid to shake off his injury.
"He's a warrior," said DiVincenzo, who finished with 28 points. "There was no doubt in my mind he'd be back."
"He's a great leader, and the players all have respect for that when a guy tries to give whatever he has. It says a lot about him," coach Tom Thibodeau added.
"To me, the actions say a lot more than the words. It says that you care a lot about your team and your team-mates."
Brunson's return certainly inspired New York, who were already without Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic due to season-ending injuries.
He notched up 24 of his 29 points during the second half as the Knicks moved halfway towards reaching their first Eastern Conference final since 2000.
"It was really cool," Brunson said of his half-time reception. "But I just knew I had to get my mind in the right place to figure out how I was going to attack in the second half."
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