Guardiola hails hat-trick hero Aguero

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola called Sergio Aguero a "special player" after the striker scored a hat-trick in his side's 4-'0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in their delayed Champions League Group C opener.

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."