Pep Guardiola praised Jack Grealish's humility to put the hard work in after hailing his "exceptional" performance in the 4-1 win against Liverpool.
The £100million winger set up Julian Alvarez's first-half equaliser and then scored the fourth, before earning a standing ovation when he was replaced by Cole Palmer late in the game.
Grealish has been in excellent form for City recently and Guardiola believes the former Aston Villa forward is now feeling like he belongs at the club.
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"All season I’ve been really, really pleased with Jack, Aston Villa fans knew him really well," said Guardiola.
"Nothing changes, but it’s to believe I am part of that, he believes completely [now], the way he behaves when he wasn’t playing at the beginning was exceptional. Today he was amazing, I liked the standing ovation, he deserved it, all season he was playing well."
Grealish's goal was the first he had scored at the Etihad this season and just his fourth in 37 appearances this term, but Guardiola insists he can't be judged solely on numbers alone.
He made one particularly decisive defensive contribution just before setting up Alvarez's goal, when he raced back to intercept a Mohamed Salah cross that could have led to Diogo Jota doubling Liverpool's lead.
"You can judge the block to Salah, it could be 2-0. Football is more than the stats," said Guardiola.
"The way he gave us the right tempo to play and make the extra passes, I can’t imagine the big name he is and the price the club paid, the humility to run like a teenager. That means a lot to me and the team. At the same time he has to score more goals at home."
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