Guardiola singles out De Bruyne and Delph for praise following Manchester City triumph at Chelsea

Pep Guardiola has hailed the "humble" Kevin De Bruyne after the Manchester City midfielder scored a golazo winner to give his side a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (30 October).

De Bruyne was sold by Chelsea to Wolfsburg in January 2014, having barely featured under former manager Jose Mourinho during the first part of the 2013-14 campaign.

Manchester City lured him back to the Premier League one-and-half season later after he impressed during time in the Bundesliga.

The midfielder has since become a key player for City and on Saturday proved it once again by scoring a spectacular winner against his former side.

"He makes absolutely everything. He can score, fights like the humblest guy around – I'm so happy for him," Guardiola said following the win over Chelsea.

"He's clever. The quality to see the ball short, long – he can play in four, five or six positions. We are lucky to have him."

Meanwhile, the City boss was also full of praise for Fabian Delph as the midfielder impressed at the left-back while covering the absence of long-term injury Benjamin Mendy.

"Fabian again made an outstanding performance, his covering was excellent; he's aggressive, I'm so happy for him, the last season was tough for him, that's why I'm so happy," Guardiola said after the midfielder already played in the unfamiliar role during the midweek victory over Shakhtar in the Champions League.

"We adjusted our position and we were outstanding. We found David Silva better in the second half. We tried to monopolise the ball and play and play and we did it. Three days ago, Chelsea won in Madrid – that's why I give the group a lot of credit."

The impressive victory at Chelsea leaves City top of the Premier League table after seven games, level on points with Manchester United and five ahead of Tottenham.

Guardiola was delighted with the result, especially because his side outclassed the reigning champions.

"We came here to win. This is my first time as a manager [winning] in this stadium. We are so happy, but the most important thing is to win the game, the way we played in the second half was really good," Guardiola added.

"We came here last year and there are no words to describe what they are and what they did. In the first half, we didn't find the best positions, but second half was better. Chelsea are dangerous when they counter, but we keep the ball as much as possible. When we win, we are so happy for that. It's just September, and there's a long way to go."