Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling says his side’s 3-1 victory over Hull City is just what they needed in the race to qualify for Champions League next season.

City returned to winning ways when they beat the Tigers through goals by Sergio Aguero, Fabian Delph and an own goal by Ahmed Elmohamady, after three Premier League matches without a win.

Pep Guardiola’s side now remain in fourth place in the Premier League standings with 61 points and have won 18 out of 31 matches played so far this season, trailing third-placed Liverpool by two points.

Meanwhile, Andrea Ranocchia scored an 85th minute consolation goal for the Tiger as they fell to their 18th defeat in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old insists that the Citizens are solely focused on their results in the hopes of finishing in the top four of the Premier League this season.

‘We needed a win today, we have dropped too many points and it was back to winning ways,’ Sterling told the Manchester City website.

‘We don’t worry about other teams’ results, it’s step by step for the team and we just need to focus on our results.

‘We need to put our head down and focus on ourselves and that’s what we did this afternoon.’

The England international has urged his side to tighten up their backline in order to stop conceding, having already conceded 35 goals so far this season.

‘With five minutes to go, we need to see the game out and don’t concede,’ he added.

‘We need to get that right. It was sloppy and we have to fix that.’

Manchester City will be hoping to continue their winning ways when they take on Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.

The match at St Mary’s Stadium kicks off at 18:30.

Image: Manchester City website