No complaints from Stoke boss Pulis after Manchester City defeat

London: The 54-year-old offered no excuses for his side`s loss at the Etihad Stadium, and felt that the discrepancy in quality was the primary factor in the result.

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis admitted his side were second best against Manchester City after seeing his team fall to a heavy 3-0 defeat. The Premier League champions dominated proceedings throughout, and cruised their way to three points thanks to goals from Pablo Zabaleta, Edin Dzeko, and a penalty from Sergio Aguero. Pulis` men had shown great spirit to come back from a two goal deficit to earn a point against Southampton just a few days ago, but the Potters were powerless to prevent a City onslaught, and the 54-year-old revealed his view that a clear gap in quality was the main reason for the defeat. He told reporters: "I`ve no complaints, they were the better team. Someone has just asked me what the difference was - I said about £220 million. "For us to come here we have to bring our `A` game and City have to be off it. That wasn`t the case but you have to sometimes open your eyes and look at the reality of everything. They have got a bit of a head start on clubs like us. "I don`t know whether it was because it was the fourth game in the holiday period and we didn`t bring our `A` game - but I am not going to criticise the players. "They still worked their socks off, they worked very hard. City were the better team. You hold your hands up and dust yourself down. We have got a tough game now at Crystal Palace." Goal.Com