Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne and Fabian Delph after Manchester City put in a dominating display to outplay Premier League title rivals Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
A venomous strike in the second half from former Chelsea man De Bruyne secured all the three points for Guardiola’s Man City as they maintain their unbeaten streak this season.
Meanwhile, Delph proved his mettle at the left-back position – filling in the void following Benjamin Mendy’s injury that will keep the Frenchman out until at least April – and Guardiola hailed the Englishman for his dominating performance on Saturday.
“He makes absolutely everything. Goals, assists and he is the most humble guy,” Guardiola said of De Bruyne.
“I am so happy for him, because I know how happy he is. De Bruyne and David Silva and Fabian Delph were excellent.”
“Fabian, again, he made an outstanding performance. He’s a guy who doesn’t lose the ball, he is so smart, so clever on the ball.”
“I am so happy for him. Last season was tough, because he didn’t play, but was injured a lot as well.”
Chelsea’s attack was dealt a huge blow when Alvaro Morata limped off the pitch with an apparent hamstring problem, and Man City dominated the game both on and off the ball.
John Stones delivered a rock-solid performance at the back as Guardiola’s side did not face a major threat all throughout the game. Antonio Rudiger’s goal-line clearance stopped Gabriel Jesus from extending Man City’s lead late on.
Man City have now clinched 19 points from seven Premier League games – and sit top of the league table, equal on points with arch-rivals Man Utd but ahead on goal difference, but the former Barcelona boss is not getting carried away so early in the season.
“It’s September. There’s a lot to do. But that’s the path,” Guardiola added.
“The win is the most important thing, but the way we played, especially in the second half. In the first half we did not find the right positions.”
“Chelsea want to play through the middle and attack with a lot of people. But we keep the ball as well as possible and regain possession as quickly as possible.”
“It’s not easy to do that, especially against players like [Eden] Hazard and Willian and Pedro, because one mistake and it is a goal. But it’s the way we play and feel football. So we are happy for that.”
“It’s important to win. It’s three points we win and three points Chelsea didn’t win. We’ve won all the games in September and most playing really well and scoring goals.”
“Everybody is going to fight to keep this going.”