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Tom Heaton couldn't admire it at the time but after the final whistle at the Etihad the Aston Villa goalkeeper was full of praise for his Manchester City counterpart.

Pep Guardiola's side had struggled to break down the newly-promoted side in the opening 45 minutes, causing the manager to demand more urgency from his team at the break.

It worked inside a minute as Raheem Sterling fired home the opening goal but the goal was more direct than the type the Blues are known for; a long kick from Ederson was flicked on by Gabriel Jesus into the England international's path.

For Villa and for the rest of the league, it was a reminder that City can score any kind of goal at a moment's notice.

Asked if he had ever seen a keeper kick like that, Heaton responded: "No, not really. He’s very good at it. Even the one in the first half which I’ve ended up chesting down to Bjorn was about four feet off the ground – it was an incredible strike. It is a pass, not a long ball. You should never force it playing out from the back.

"City have options everywhere, which is the big thing. Each player knows those options. What I like about them is it’s not always 100 per cent short. If it’s not on then go longer and it creates space for when they do play short. They have that balance.

"[Ederson] made a couple of good saves. The one from Ginny [John McGinn] in the first half, Keinan [Davis] in the second. He suits the way they play and still has that long threat. It makes it difficult to stay compact if they can go over the top. They want to spread you out. We did deal with it well. It hurts now but when the emotion dies down there will be some really good stuff to take from it."