Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Burnley - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 31, 2024 Burnley manager Vincent Kompany and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola before the match REUTERS/Phil Noble
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - 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, really good. Him and Erling are going to help us in this part of the season," the manager said.
Kompany took positives from his team's performance.
"We have to look at the easy goals we conceded but also the chances we created," he said. "I thought we looked after the ball ever so well. Every time we had the ball we looked threatening. When we defended, we have to defend better."
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
