Guardiola praise for Kompany after Man City beat Burnley

MANCHESTER, England : Pep Guardiola heaped praise on his Burnley counterpart Vincent Kompany following Manchester City's 3-1 Premier League victory on Wednesday, suggesting the latter will one day be in charge at the Etihad Stadium.

Two goals by birthday boy Julian Alvarez and a Rodri strike gave City a comfortable win as they welcomed Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones back into the starting line-up, and had striker Erling Haaland on the pitch in the second half after missing the last 10 games with injury.

City are second in the Premier League table, five points behind Liverpool with a game in hand.

There was a tribute to Burnley manager Kompany before the match in recognition of the former City defender’s 11-year stay at the club during which he made 360 appearances.

"Vinny sooner or later will finish here," Guardiola told reporters. "I have the feeling he will finish here. He is already a big manager, what he did last season with Burnley. You can see the ideas they have, the way they try to defend. I like what he does."

City were never troubled despite a late consolation goal for Burnley's Ameen Al Dakhil.

"Today the game was not close," Guardiola said. "There are games with this score that feel closer, this was not. We had players who have less control than usual, we had more runners, more speed.

"Burnley is not an easy team to face, they never give up. Today, we won because of the quality of players we have, not because we controlled everything or where better at all aspects."

The return of De Bruyne to the starting side for the first time since the opening day of the season, ironically also against Burnley, was welcomed by Guardiola.

"It's a long time, five months, he didn't play. He comes back with energy. He played really,