Pellegrini delighted with seven-goal drubbing

City cruised to a 4-0 half-time lead in the Premier League clash courtesy of a Bradley Johnson own goal, as well as efforts from David Silva, Matija Nastasic and Alvaro Negredo.

Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko completed the rout after the break, as pre-match speculation surrounding Joe Hart's eventual omission was quickly forgotten.

And Pellegrini was pleased that his players did not take their foot off the gas in the second half.

"I think that the team played really well during the 90 minutes," he said. "Winning 4-0 in the first half - normally, in the second half, most teams stop playing.

"I think the team continued playing exactly the same and that's very important for me.

"It was important to see the team play the way I want them to play.

"They are very good technical players and when they move the ball quickly, it's very difficult for our team not to score, so we must continue in the same way.

"I think Norwich is a very good team. I didn't expect to score seven goals, but I think the team played to do it so it's great for me."