Raheem Sterling says Manchester City's narrow victory over Feyenoord proves they can do it the hard way

The winger scored the decisive goal at the Etihad Stadium in a tight contest

Raheem Sterling scores the winner against Feyenoord (Getty)

Match winner Raheem Sterling admitted that winning ugly is sometimes a necessity as Manchester City recorded a late 1-0 Champions League victory over Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

Sterling fired home an 88th-minute winner to earn the Premier League leaders maximum points as Pep Guardiola's men completed a double over their Dutch Group F opponents this season after a comfortable 4-0 victory at Feyenoord in September.

He told BT Sport/ESPN Live: "What we've shown this season - no matter what competition it is - if it's Champions League, Premier League, cup games, we've got the mentality that we want to win and even if it's sometimes ugly, we just try to make sure we get the three points and the win."

The goal was England midfielder Sterling's 11th of the season in all competitions and he said he was impressed by the Dutch side's battling qualities.

He added: "It's always good to score but the most important thing is to win. They kept really solid. I think today at times we were a bit slow on the ball. I think we could have played a bit quicker.

"There was some good play at the end but credit to them, they dug in deep and kept in the game for as long as possible."

​PA