Guardiola after Man City win over Villa - "We played 90 minutes exceptional."

Guardiola heaped praise on his Cityzens after they played exceptionally well throughout their Premier League clash against Steven Gerrard's Villans.

Pep Guardiola [BBC Motd Screen Shot]

Pep Guardiola was pleased with his Manchester City side performed when they traveled to Villa Park on Wednesday evening.

Midfielder Bernardo Silva scored a stunning goal before half-time to help the Cityzens beat Aston Villa 2-1, imposing Steven Gerrard's first Premier League defeat as a manager.

This was after centre-back Ruben Dias had opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a superb curlier that found the bottom corner of the net.

Ollie Watkins pulled one back for the hosts immediately after the interval but the hosts were unable to seal a comeback as Man City came out as winners.

This was a fourth league win in a row for Guardiola's side, who are still in the second spot in the league table, one point behind leaders Chelsea.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the victory, Guardiola said: "We make an incredible game because I know how good they are. Steven Gerrard is already a great manager. They know exactly what they want to do with a lot of quality.

"We played 90 minutes exceptional. With the quality Villa have, in order not to concede many chances. I say to the players, they [the injured players] are not here and are not going to help us win. The academy will help us win.

"When Kevin de Bruyne doesn't play and Phil Foden doesn't play we are not a team to run on the counter attack but that goal, was exceptional from Bernardo Silva.

"We see tomorrow. I don't think so but they were not here. Tomorrow we will assess.

"People can express what they want [towards Jack Grealish]. If they boo it is because they love him so much. I thought a lot of people were clapping. A warm welcome back to this club. He lives this club more than any other. He decided to take the next step to play in Europe."

'The bigger the challenge, the bigger the wins'

Man City goalscorer Dias, told Amazon Prime: "Very important win today way against a team that are on fire under a new manager. Very important to get the three points. Everyone fight a lot and we are very happy.

Man City defender Ruben Dias opened the scoring at Villa Park [BBC MOTD Screen Shot]

"Bernardo [Silva] gave us a little bit of extra confidence into the second half. We have to give them credit for a good goal that changed the game. With the crowd they tried to make things different but our team was always there and in control of the game.

"That is what our team is made of. To come here and perform how we did today is a demonstration of how we work, no exceptions. The bigger the challenge the bigger the wins. We love that. It is what we are here for."

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