Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling has insisted that there is "a long way to go" in the season after Sunday's 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
Son Heung-min scored the only goal of the contest in the early stages of the second half, as Nuno Espirito Santo's side recorded an impressive victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Speaking after the contest, Sterling said that there were plenty of positives for the Premier League champions, but they were unable to find that final touch in the final third of the field.
"I thought we started well. We controlled the game better at times, we let them counter at times. It is the first game and we have a long way to go," Sterling told BBC Sport.
"We got in the right positions at times, we had one or two chances we could put away but we didn't and they did... the referee let the game flow. I thought he was brilliant today."
Man City will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome newly-promoted Norwich City to the Etihad Stadium next weekend.
The Citizens will then end August with a home match against Arsenal before travelling to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City in their first game of September. body check tags ::