Guardiola hails hat-trick hero Aguero

Aguero opened the scoring in the eighth minute before adding his second from the spot 20 minutes later after debutant Ilkay Gundogan had been brought down.

The Argentinian made it 3-0 midway through the second half before Kelechi Iheanacho completed the rout in added time.

When asked where the 28-year-old ranks among the other strikers Guardiola has worked with, the City manager told BT Sport: "One of the best, no doubts about that.

"He has a special quality in the box. He's a special player.

"We played well, so thanks to all the players for making me so happy, for making our fans happy and I hope our football can be better and better."

Guardiola also heaped praise on Gundogan, who made a valuable contribution in his first game in a City shirt.

He added: "He's an amazing player.

"Of course he's going to help us a lot this year. He's going to help us and we are so happy to have him here."