Pep Guardiola hails 'best in the world' Man City star after Aston Villa win

Pep Guardiola was full of praise for his Manchester City side after they beat Aston Villa in a dramatic finish at the Etihad

Pep Guardiola praised Jeremy Doku for changing the game against Aston Villa days after admitting he had been unfair on him. The Manchester City manager said after the win at Everton that he felt for the winger after choosing not to start him in recent matches.

That continued against Aston Villa, with the Belgian left on the bench until the 74th minute as the two teams went at each other trying to gain the upper hand in the race for Champions League football. It looked like both would have to settle for a 1-1 draw until Doku produced a moment of magic in the fourth minute of five added on in injury time.

Beating his man and surging into the box, he rifled a ball across the goal that Matheus Nunes met at the back post to hit back across goalkeeper Emi Martinez and give City a priceless win. Guardiola called Doku the 'best in the world over five metres' and praised his final ball.

"Jeremy always gives you something, for the crowd," he said. "He changed the game.

"In the first three or four actions he could not do the action but at the end for me Jeremy is the best player in the world in the first five metres. Over five metres he is unstoppable and today he made the action and made a good cross and you have to be there.

"Nico was there and Gundo was there and Marmoush was there and Matheus was there."

Nunes's goal, his first for City in the Premier League, lifts them into third and means that even with missing a week of Premier League fixtures while they head to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-finals they cannot drop out of the top five before their next fixture - at home to Nunes's former club Wolves.

One point would not have been disastrous for their chance of achieving Champions League football next season, but three - and over a direct rival as well - felt big.

"If we win the next four games, it will have been so important. You don't have to be scientists to realise that we play against Aston Villa, one of the best teams as you saw against Newcastle and PSG," said Guardiola.

"An extraordinary team but we performed as we did in the past with the commitment. We didn't create much but we controlled the game, the back four again, all the players and for qualification for the Champions League of course it is important but sometimes we have to be calm and focus on the semi-final and after we have days to prepare the four finals.

"Two games at home, two away and game by game."

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