Guardiola says Bernardo Silva is "the best" after victory at Villa Park

Portuguese international scores a wonder goal in 2-1 win against the Villains

Pep Guardiola hailed Bernardo Silva as the best player in the league after the Portuguese international helped the Blues to a 2-1 victory at Villa Park.

Silva capped off a fine individual performance with a wonderful volley in the first half, and City's manager was full of praise for the midfielder.

“He is the best," Guardiola said. "He was the best two or three seasons ago. He was the best then too. He has a special ability to do whatever he wants with the ball. Against a good goalkeeper it was an incredible finish.

“You have to go back to when we won with 98 points, review the videos, you will see the same player like this right now.

“To come here against this opposition, I was really impressed with who they are, and to be able to beat them is an incredible step for us.

“The importance is being there [at the top]. We’ve had an incredibly tough first part of the league, we are there one point behind. The important thing is the way we are performing, the way we are performing is a high level.”