Manchester's Pep Guardiola hails 'exceptional' Kevin De Bruyne

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hailed Belgium player Kevin De Bruyne as 'exceptional'.

"It's not necessary for me to say absolutely anything about Kevin any more. I'd just say: 'Take a look at how he plays'. The performance level, the continuity, the influence in our final third and on our finishing, the desire, his calmness and positivity," Goal.com quoted Guardiola as saying.

"I mean, I asked him: 'Kevin, what did you feel before you took that penalty?' and he just said: 'I'm going to score'. He doesn't feel much pressure, he likes to play in the big events, he's an exceptional player," he added.

Manchester City managed to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Thursday. In the second half, the scoreline was 1-1 but De Bruyne scored a penalty in the 83rd minute to hand his club a victory.

Guardiola further stated that the 28-year-old is 'improving and improving'.

"He's able to see something special and you have the spaces no one else can see but even with that he's improving and improving," he said.

"He's not 33 or 34. He's still a lot of years to play and always you have the feeling when he's on the pitch that he's never disconnected, even if he's not influencing the game at that moment. It's important to be like that," Guardiola added.