Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, praised midfielder Bernardo Silva for his outstanding performance in the team’s victory over Bayern Munich.
The Citizens easily defeated Germany by a score of 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, and they will have the upper hand when the teams meet again.
Before the halfway point, Spanish ace Rodri unleashed a breathtaking left-footed shot into the top corner to start the scoring.
But it was Silva’s rare headed goal that was even more unexpected as he doubled City’s advantage, with Erling Haaland adding a third shortly after.
The 28-year-old was given the nod over Riyad Mahrez, who had started in the last two Premier League matches and his contributions were of the highest class at the Etihad.
After the game, his manager could not help but rave about the midfielder, who had the beating of Alphonso Davies all night.
He said: “He is one of the best players I have trained in my life. He’s special.
“Bernardo Silva is a football player. What does it mean? He will play everywhere because he understands the game. Bernardo has the ability to read.
“But Bernardo is such an important player in these type of games. He can play holding midfield, false nine, he scores recently a lot of goals.
“He is a player if you say play in this position, he understands everything.”
It may have looked like a comfortable night for the hosts, but Guardiola insists that he is “emotionally destroyed” after such a tough match.
He said: “It was not comfortable. I’m emotionally destroyed. I’ve aged 10 more years today.
“It was such a demanding game. Now I have to relax, a day off for the guys, then prepare for Leicester.
“I knew exactly what we had to do. If you don’t perform really well, Bayern are able to score one, two or three.
“It’s an incredible result, but we have to play our game with a huge, huge personality over there.
“I know what this win means, but we’re going there to score goals and to try to win the game.”