Manchester City defender John Stones has admitted that his side have "a lot" to work on following their narrow victory over Sunderland on the opening day of the new Premier League season.

Sergio Aguero had given the hosts an early lead from the penalty spot at the Etihad Stadium, but they needed an 87th-minute own goal from Paddy McNair to rescue all three points after Jermain Defoe had restored parity.

It was an underwhelming start for Pep Guardiola's City, who face Steaua Bucuresti in a Champions League qualifier on Tuesday, but Stones believes that there were plenty of positives to take from the game too.

"We've been working hard over the three or four days I've been here, I thought we brought a lot of good things to the pitch but there's a lot we can work on, with Tuesday coming," he told BT Sport.

"I'm pleased we got the three points in the end. We were patient with the ball - that's what the manager wants. Maybe sometimes we could have played a bit quicker but that's football, we decided to keep it."

Stones was making his Man City debut following his £47.5m move from Everton.