Pablo Zabaleta says Manchester City have proved the doubters wrong following their stunning 3-1 Champions League victory over Barcelona.

Zabaleta, who returned from a foot injury to feature in Tuesday's Champions League success, said: "We had started the season really well, winning all the games in the Premier League and the Champions League, until we had a small blip.

"Perhaps people were talking about a crisis or saying we doubted our style of play a little bit, but we responded well in the last couple of games.

"Obviously Pep's way is to believe in hard work, believe in what we're doing, what we're working towards, and that's the best way to go."

He added: "The whole team played a very complete game. Perhaps in the first half Barcelona dominated the game a bit more but the goal just before half-time was important for our confidence.

"The most important thing is that we won and now we have to keep going."