Guardiola compares Manchester City star to Lionel Messi

Guardiola acknowledges Bernardo Silva’s second goal for Manchester City 6-1 win The Bournemouth game reminded him of Lionel Messi.

Silva was impressive in Manchester City’s huge win on Saturday, scoring twice at the Etihad Stadium. The Portugal international’s second goal was particularly special, with Silva bursting down the flank and past Lloyd Kelly before curling the ball past Jonut André in Bournemouth’s goal Radu.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola paid special tribute to the second goal, praising it as a Messi-like finish: “What can I say to him? He plays on the right, on the left. I pushed him to score, This is the next step in his career. You’re a very good player.

“The last goal reminded me of Messi, the way he scored. He is an extraordinary player.”

Guardiola also took time to discuss Jeremy Doku’s outstanding performance. The new signing was in excellent form, contributing five goals in the win. The head coach admitted he was surprised by Doku’s performance, saying: “He surprised us all – he’s a great footballer.

“He reads every move carefully to know exactly what he has to do. It’s quality close to the box. We always talk about that.

“Go, dribble, go, because it’s hard to find a player these days who has the ability to play in small spaces and he’s one of the fastest players over five meters.

“It’s unbelievable how he changes the rhythm within five metres. Then when he can’t dribble, he makes the right decisions and that’s really impressive to me. That’s why for me he’s A very, very good football player.”

Guardiola hopes the pair’s good form continues next week when City take on Young Boys in the Champions League and Chelsea in the Premier League.

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