'Doku looks like the final product' – Guardiola lauds Man City winger

Pep Guardiola believes Jeremy Doku "looks like the final product" after the winger turned out another impressive performance against Brentford.

City won 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Doku opening the scoring before Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush sealed a crucial victory.

Doku became just the third player to record six or more chances created and complete six or more dribbles in a Premier League game this season, after Bukayo Saka did so against Fulham in October and Elliot Anderson against Brighton in November.

The Belgian has scored in three successive appearances in all competitions for the first time in his City career, while he has seven goal involvements in his last six games (five goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 24 (one goal, six assists).

And after his brace against Everton on Monday, all three of Doku’s goals this week have either put City one goal in the lead (two) or drawn them level (one).

Guardiola's side are now just two points behind league leaders Arsenal, who face West Ham on Sunday, and the City boss was full of praise for his winger.

"He [Doku] looks like the final product," Guardiola told Sky Sports.

"Of course he can improve but he always had this incredible ability to dribble. The connection with Nico [O'Reilly] is extraordinary. 

"But now he is winning games. I'm so incredibly pleased with Omar [Marmoush] as well. I had the feeling that not just Erling but the wingers and other attackers had to score goals and Jeremy has made this step."

"Jeremy is outstanding in many things. The difference in the second half was that we put more players in the box.

"That was why we struggled to create the final product in the first half. In the end, we take a great result and keep going."

Brentford, meanwhile, have won just one of their last eight Premier League games (D5 L2) and are winless in their last four away from home (D2 L2), failing to score in three of those.

Keith Andrews' side have lost ground in the European race, but the Brentford boss felt the scoreline at the Etihad did not reflect his team's performance.

"We’re playing against a team that’s fighting for the title," Andrews told Sky Sports.

"You can see that in their urgency. I liked a lot of what we did today. We showed a lot of bravery, a lot of courage. It needed to be a near-perfect performance to win tonight.

"I don’t think the scoreline should fool anyone into thinking it was an absolute rout. The way we approached it, the margins of what we had, the margins of the decisions that were made are quite telling overall."