Manchester City full-back Bacary Sagna has admitted that his side need to improve their communication skills in defence.

The Premier League outfit were cut open on numerous occasions by AS Monaco during Tuesday night's thrilling Champions League last-16 clash at the Etihad Stadium, with the Ligue 1 leaders scoring three away goals.

City are still in control of the tie having run out 5-3 winners, but Sagna acknowledged that the team still have work to do defensively.

"I think we have to communicate a bit more because it's all about communication. We conceded three goals so of course I can't be pleased as a defender but we managed to react, keep going forward and we never gave up. As a defender I am always a bit sad whenever we concede goals – that's the only bad point," he told reporters.

"We need to remain compact and we need to communicate a bit more. On the pitch everything happens so quickly, and communication is the key. They managed to create some chances because we had a lack of communication we have to improve. Monaco are a quality team, you saw how quick they are on the counter attack, we have to be solid and remain and stick together as a team.

"It was a completely crazy game. We started really well, we managed to score first, we managed to play really well until we got caught on the counter-attack. We kept going because we are so determined to quality. We still have a difficult team in front of us but we will never give up. We will never give up. We just have to push, keep going and keep believing."

City will return to Monaco for the second leg on March 15.