Pep praises ‘incredible’ pair after victory at Bournemouth

CITY manager praised two players in his post-match interviews following the Premier League win over Bournemouth.

A Riyad Mahrez goal in the second half was enough to hand City the win to move them top of the Premier League ahead of Liverpool’s game on Sunday afternoon.

City controlled the game at the Vitality Stadium, and restricted Bournemouth to just 18 per cent possession that resulted in no attempts on goal for the home side.

It was the second 1-0 win in four days for Guardiola’s men, who were without key players through injury and who had played 120 minutes last Sunday in the Carabao Cup final.

And two players specifically were singled out for praise from Guardiola David Silva and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Guardiola said: “David was incredible. In first half of the season we qualified for the Champions League and he was one of the main reasons. After that, he had an injury and took time to get his pace back.

“For three or four games in a row he has been incredible.

“Zinchenko is definitely important to us. He is playing top. Players play because they deserve it. Oleks was committed, smart, intelligent and he understands everything - he has incredible quality.

“But I repeat, I am so delighted with all my players.”