Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have earned the right to play Champions League football next season after an emphatic win against Brighton.
Raheem Sterling struck a hat-trick to take his goal tally to 27 for the season in all competitions with strikes also coming from Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva to give City a 5-0 success at the Amex Stadium.
That result assures them of mathematically finishing runners-up to runaway Premier League champions Liverpool after Chelsea were beaten by Sheffield United earlier in the day.
The club will on Monday discover the outcome of their appeal against a two-year ban from European club competitions following alleged breaches of club licensing and financial fair play regulations.
But City boss Guardiola is extremely optimistic about receiving positive news and thinks his side have shown they deserve to be in the competition next season.
"It's the decision, so it's so important, of course it is," the Spaniard said of the appeal verdict.
"What we have done is win our qualification on the pitch. Nobody can doubt about this.
"In general the level we played today was quite similar all the season and now we are going to wait until Monday when the decision of Uefa will be taken."
Asked if he was hopeful about the appeal being successful, Guardiola replied: "A lot."
Additional reporting from the Press Association.
