Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola praised the will to win of “animal” David Silva after his goals helped the Premier League leaders thrash Swansea and extend their record run of consecutive top-flight wins to 15.
Silva scored twice and further goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero ensured City maintained their 11-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the table, while Swansea remain bottom.
The Spain playmaker elegantly flicked the fluent visitors in front from close range before De Bruyne’s whipped free-kick evaded several players on its way in.
The procession continued after the interval as the elegant Silva delicately scooped the ball over Lukasz Fabianski for City’s third.
Aguero then surged into the penalty area and drove in a late fourth as Swansea’s sixth defeat from nine home league matches this season left them rooted to the foot of the table, two points adrift of safety.
“David is hugely competitive, everyone knows his skills, there is no doubt – a blind guy is able to see that – but you cannot imagine how competitive he is,” Guardiola told BBC Radio 5 live.
“He is a stylish guy, but he is an animal, always wanting to win games.”
City have now scored 52 times in 17 Premier League games, with Silva getting four in three games after also netting in the 2-1 wins over West Ham and Manchester United.
“It is so important for us that not just Gabriel (Jesus) or Sergio (Aguero) score,” added Guardiola. “Our attacking midfielders, our wingers, our set pieces we can score goals and on the counter-attack, that’s why I’m delighted for David that he is scoring goals.”
