Pep Guardiola has hailed the brilliant performance of 34-year-old David Silva after Manchester City’s 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle United in Premier League on Wednesday at the empty Etihad Stadium. With one goal and two assists, Silva proved instrumental in City’s emphatic result.

“What he has done is incredible, fantastic,” said Guardiola as quoted on the official website of Manchester City.

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“Not just for the game today, for the last 10 years. What we want is for the people to come back to the Etihad for a game for him as one of the legends of the Club.

“In the small spaces, he is maybe the best I have seen,” Guardiola added.

Silva, who is all set to leave City at the end of the season, has time and again put on display his usual brilliance this season. However, since top-flight football returned in England after the COVID-19 hiatus, the Spanish midfielder has been phenomenal and he summed up why he would always remain a legend with a stupendous free-kick in the second half on Wednesday.

“He came back from lockdown in incredible rhythm. If he decided to, he could play anywhere. There’s no doubt about that.

“The level he is at is the best of this season. He is playing really, really good. The fans are not here but he is going to come back to bid them farewell.

“As I say, the way he works in the pockets, is incredible. The young players learn from David by example, not by the words.

“He’s someone who doesn’t talk much, but he leads by example in the training sessions. He is such a competitor,” City’s two-time Premier League winning manager opined.

Other than Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling scored for the Blues of Manchester, while Newcastle’s Federico Fernandez netted one in the wrong side.

Jesus drew the first blood when he steered Silva’s cross into the far corner in the 10th minute. The second came 11 minutes later when the assist king Kevin De Bruyne joined the party and fed Mahrez who produced a simple finish.

The third goal was a result of the stroke of luck as an attempted clearance by Matt Ritchie ricocheted off Fernandez into the backside of his own net. Silva’s free-kick was the fourth goal before he set up Sterling for another in the stoppage time.