Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised David Silva following his goalscoring performance against Stoke City on Monday night.
The Spaniard netted both goals in the team's 2-0 victory at the bet365 Stadium.
The result means that City are now just two wins away from securing the Premier League title, and they could get the job done at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester United.
After the final whistle blew, Guardiola told Sky Sports News: "We are very close now, we have 81 points which is a lot! We had a solid performance, we controlled the game and conceded no chances.
"Now we have three weeks off, we go to Abu Dhabi and will come back strong. It is a tough winter for everybody so we are off straight away and we look forward to the weather.
"Today we were solid. David Silva controls the tempo. He has the skills no doubt about that but in the bad moments he is there to control the game and he is an aggressive competitor."
City, who have lost just one of their 30 top-flight fixtures, have a 16-point lead at the top of the table.
Danielle Joynson
