Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on midfielder Kevin De Bruyne following his performance in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth.

The Belgium international produced another stunning display during the Premier League clash, scoring the opening goal at home.

His low free-kick managed to find the bottom corner, before further strikes from Kelechi Iheanacho, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan sealed the win.

The Citizens, 1.67 favourites to win the league title, have now won all five of their Premier League games, while the club have also enjoyed success in the UEFA Champions League.

Although Guardiola has only worked with De Bruyne for a few months, the Spaniard is confident he is only a level behind Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Speaking after the win he told reporters: “I think he is a special, outstanding player.

He makes everything. Without the ball he is the first fighter, and with the ball he is clear – he sees absolutely everything.

“Every time he makes the right decision. That is why he is a player on another level.

We are lucky to have him and I hope he can enjoy playing his amazing football with us. “I think he would like to win these individual prizes – all the players like that.

But I think he is happy when he plays with performances like today. “When we talk about Messi, maybe he can sit alone in the table, with no-one else allowed. But in the table beside, Kevin can sit there.”