David Silva Is an Animal- Pep

Pep Guardiola has told BBC Sport that David Silva is “an animal” and praised his competitive nature after he scored twice in Manchester City’s 4-0 win against Swansea on Wednesday.

That victory kept City 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League and saw them set a record for the division as they won a 15th consecutive game.

Silva’s brace took his tally to four goals in City’s last three games and Guardiola praised his contribution.

“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 said.

“He is a stylish guy, but he is an animal, always wanting to win games.”

He added: “It is so important for us that not just Gabriel [Jesus] or Sergio [Aguero] score. 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.”

Guardiola revealed that he has spoken to Silva about the amount of goals he scores and is happy to see the advice paying off on the pitch.

“David is a real leader in the terms that he never hides on the pitch,” Guardiola said. “I have spoken to him so many times that he has to score goals and win games.

“He has absolutely everything but sometimes he was thinking more about the pass. But now in the last three games he has scored goals and I think he knows he is a star.”