Joe Hart hopes Sevilla win marks end to Manchester City's European naivety

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart praised his side's professional 3-1 victory in Sevilla on Tuesday, and believes it may mark an end to the English club's Champions League struggles.

The Citizens dominated the first half at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, with all goals coming in the opening 45 minutes, and then did a neat job of closing the game in the second stanza.

The win was the third consecutive triumph in Europe for Manuel Pellegrini's men, and secured qualification to the knockout stages of the competition.

The focus is now on securing top spot in order to get a supposedly easier game in the round of 16. In the last two seasons, City finished runner-up in its group, and was promptly eliminated by Barcelona in the next stage.

Hart doesn't believe top spot in Group D is all that important, however.

"We're in the competition to win it so at some point we're going to have to play one of those strong teams," Hart said.

The England international thinks the performance in Seville can help the Etihad outfit.

"In certain games and (against Sevilla) it was the right way to play. We set up well, we defended well, and we took our chances well.

"It's pretty simple but sometimes we've not played to that gameplan - we've been a little reckless; I think (Vincent Kompany) said it a few times: we've been a little bit naive and been caught out. But we've been really solid - they only had a couple of chances and we took ours."

City has gained a reputation of continually tilting from brilliance to disaster, and Hart hasn't ruled out the same story in the remaining group games against Juventus and Monchengladbach.

"I imagine it will be a lot easier. But speak to our fans - as much pain as we put them through, they enjoy the ride. I enjoy the ride. It's a different way to look at it this time, we can set up a little bit different and we don't have to be as vulnerable."

For now, City's focus returns to domestic matters and the Premier League trip to Aston Villa on Sunday.