Pep Guardiola says he enjoyed Man City's dominance in 7-2 win over Stoke
Sunday 15 October 2017 08:45, UK
Man City manager Pep Guardiola says he "enjoyed" Saturday's 7-2 victory against Stoke and hailed Kevin de Bruyne as an "outstanding player".
It was a dazzling performance from the hosts at the Etihad Stadium and has seen them take a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League table after Man Utd drew with Liverpool earlier in the day.
After the game, a beaming Guardiola said it was the first time his side have been the better team for much of the game, and praised the squad atmosphere.
"I enjoyed it like all our fans so we are so happy for the victory and the way we played," he told Sky Sports.
"This season we have played in many good games, but today we played better most of the time. Sometimes we play well for 30 or 45 minutes but today, it was the first time since I've been here that we played well for a long time, except for the last minute of the first half and the beginning of the second.
"We spoke about that [the effect of the international break] but the team spirit is so good in the locker room, there is positivity and they help each other which is good."
Although many of Man City's players were impressive, De Bruyne once again stood out with his performance, and Guardiola was full of praise for the midfielder while also providing an update on substitute Sergio Aguero.
"He [De Bruyne] is an outstanding player and hopefully he can keep it because we need him," he added.
"He's a guy who, when he has the ball, our wingers, strikers and attacking midfielders know he can produce absolutely everything in one pass, one assist or one action. He's a top, top player.
"Aguero is much, much better but still not 100 per cent. He is on the bench for when the situation is bad but the other ones - Bernardo, Ilkay and Yaya - deserve to play."
