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Guardiola delighted with Torres impact after Manchester City makeshift striker's 'brilliant' goal against Olympiacos
The 20-year-old got the Citizens off to a perfect start at Etihad Stadium in the Champions League as he opened the scoring with a fine strike
Pep Guardiola paid tribute to Ferran Torres after the young striker's "brilliant" goal put Manchester City on course for Champions League victory over Olympiacos on Tuesday.
Torres, 20, moved to Etihad Stadium from Valencia during the summer transfer window.
Subsequent injuries to Sergio Aguero meant the youngster has been thrown in at the deep end in City's attack, and he started alongside Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling up front in Tuesday's key Group C clash.
He did not disappoint, scoring the opener after just 12 minutes to put City ahead, while late strikes from Gabriel Jesus and Joao Cancelo sealed a 3-0 win which maintains the club's 100 per cent start to the competition in 2020-21.
Torres is still waiting for his maiden Premier League goal after four appearances to date, but Pep believes the new signing is on the right track and only improving with every match.
"He played really well again, brilliant goal, moved really well with and without the ball, he’s growing, he’s already scored a lot of goals and we are happy with his performance," he told reporters of the ex-Valencia player, while also stating his delight at seeing Jesus back in the team after injury and back amongst the goals.
"It was important of course, the fact he’s back is so important, it's good news, especially for the striker to score a brilliant goal but there were good things tonight, delighted with most of the game and happy that Gabriel is back."
City have suffered a disappointing start to their bid to wrest the Premier League title off Liverpool, dropping seven points from their opening six games to lie in 10th place, five points off Jurgen Klopp's pace-setters.
The two sides meet at Anfield on Sunday and Guardiola is pleased to have five days between fixtures in order to let his squad rest and be fully prepared.
"I saw the weather forecast and there is sunshine in Manchester," the manager added. "They’ll have a day off and then two days to prepare. It's time to enjoy the victory, the position in the table and move forward.
"I’m delighted with the situation we have, we struggled at the beginning but we moved forward, we dropped points at West Ham, the rest maybe we deserved.
"Just six or seven games, there's a lot still to play, one more before the break, now is the time to enjoy tonight, nine points and then tomorrow we recover and prepare for the game against Liverpool.”
