Toure & Iheanacho to the rescue as Man City advance with Guardiola's latest system

Manchester City's eventually comfortable victory at Hull City is their third in three since Pep Guardiola changed his tactics in the wake of the horror show at Leicester.

It therefore represents progress in terms of results and Guardiola's adaptation to the Premier League, but it cannot quite be classed as the almost cliched 'job done'.

It's true that City went into this game knowing Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United had all found ways to win and that failing to do so themselves would have had big consequences in the race for the title.

And, just as against Watford and, to a lesser extent, Arsenal, they did get the victory they needed, even if it was not always pretty.

It is common in football for these kind of results to be welcomed with open arms, but while no doubt pleased to win another match - and keep a clean sheet - Guardiola may still be concerned about the quality of his side's football.

The Catalan, after all, has grand plans for this club but has had to re-evaluate the situation in recent weeks. He seems to have realised that some of his players are not capable of carrying out his more complicated demands and he has, since the 4-2 loss at Leicester, made things simpler.

With three wins from three and just one goal conceded in 270 minutes of action - compared to seven in 180 league minutes before that - City are certainly moving forward, but perhaps not necessarily in the direction Guardiola would want.

While Antonio Conte has come up with a so-far infallible system that has produced 12 consecutive wins, Guardiola is still trying to return his side to the form that delivered 10 wins from 10 back in August and September.

By compromising and reverting to a more traditional back four, he has at least steadied the ship, but he will want more over the coming months.

Privately, he had ear-marked Hull as a side to admire, one who try to play football when in possession - even if that has only delivered three victories all season and means they are bottom of the table. That should say as much about the City boss and his insistence on playing positive football as anything.

Guardiola has also been delighted by City's ability to get results at difficult away grounds - the Blues have already won seven games on the road, the same as they managed in the whole of last season - but while they won well at Stoke City and West Brom they have had to make do with somewhat scrappier performances at Crystal Palace, Burnley and now Hull in recent weeks.

Guardiola admits he has not been happy with those performances at Selhurst Park and Turf Moor, and that is why this win is not quite what he will be after, despite the scoreline.

At least he can count on Sergio Aguero at Anfield next up. He has demanded a lot of the Argentine and it must be said it has paid off. Without their main man here, they looked rudderless, and it was not until Raheem Sterling forced the issue and won a penalty that City got themselves in front.

Yaya Toure, who was the best player on the pitch, converted emphatically and killed off the brave Hull challenge. The Ivorian continues to confound those, this correspondent included, who thought his time at City had already come to an end.

Kelechi Iheanacho, who so enjoyed his good friend's return to the team at Palace last month and joked with him before their post-match television interview here, added a second after coming on as a substitute. He will not have got as much game time as he'd have hoped in Aguero's absence, but he still knows where the goal is.

Gabriel Jesus poses a threat to the Nigerian when he arrives shortly but City know the Brazilian will need to improve his link-up play outside the box. That is something he and Iheanacho have in common, but if the man dubbed 'uncle' by his team-mates can keep finding the back of the net, that will count for a lot.

A late Curtis Davies own goal added the gloss and ensured City travel back to Manchester in high spirits. Guardiola, though, may sit at the front of the team bus and wonder how he will get the very best out of his players again. Although maybe he would settle for another win at Anfield, even if it comes like this.