Man City proved character against Celtic, says Zabaleta

Pablo Zabaleta felt Manchester City should have beaten Celtic, but was encouraged by their fighting spirit to claim a thrilling 3-3 Champions League draw in Glasgow.

Pep Guardiola saw his run of 10 consecutive victories since taking charge of the Premier League side come to an end against Brendan Rodgers' men, who led on three occasions thanks to Moussa Dembele's double and a Raheem Sterling own goal.

However, City goals from Fernandinho, Sterling and Nolito made sure of a point and the visitors put Celtic under significant pressure in the closing stages.

While being disappointed not to secure a victory, Zabaleta felt City's impressive character had been proven.

"To come back three times when we were behind shows the character of the team," he told the club's website.

"We were a bit unlucky not to score at the end. We created a few clear chances and had control of the game in the second half.

"It's true that we conceded in three key moments of the game, especially the third goal at the start of the second half but to come back was important.

"We were saying before the game that this is a difficult place to come and get a result. They are a club with a big history and a different team when they play at home compared to when they play away.

"The atmosphere was incredible and it was a great game to watch for the fans.

"We always play to win and of course we should have won. It would have been a great step to qualifying for the next round but at this level no games are easy.

"For us it was not the result that we were looking for but when you can't win it is important not to lose."

Having picked up four points from two Group C matches, City's next Champions League game sees them travel to Camp Nou to play Barcelona on October 19.