Guardiola's side have won three of their last four league games as they begin the long climb back to respectability after a dismal start to the season.

"We are really pleased, we are back in many things that have defined this team in the last decade, the last years," Guardiola said.

"Really pleased for the players, they deserved it a lot. We recovered some identities that we lost in this path.

"Really pleased for the three points and to climb a little bit because qualification for the Champions League next season will be really tough.

Sterner tests lie in wait for City, including a vital Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and looming Premier League clashes with Chelsea and Arsenal.

But this was the kind of confident display City used to make look routine during their march to four successive English titles.

Winning is almost certain to prove beyond them as they trail leaders Liverpool by 12 points.

Guardiola will settle for restoring City's pride this term as he rebuilds a team that suddenly grew old and inconsistent before his eyes.

"The most important thing is that the players, they saw themselves recognise what we are, so that is the best thing I can say," he said.

Haaland, who has scored 112 goals in just 127 appearances for City, this week committed himself to the club until 2034 when he signed a new nine-and-a-half year deal.

But Kyle Walker was again absent from the City side amid reports that AC Milan are ready to bid for the unsettled England right-back.

In City's first visit to Portman Road for 23 years, the champions emphasised how powerful they can still be at peak form.