Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola commended “extraordinary” Ilkay Gundogan as his team took a mammoth stride towards the Champions League last eight with an excellent win at Basel.

City took order of the round of 16 first leg tie inside the 30 minutes mark in Switzerland as Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero all scored inside a nine-minute time frame.

German Gundogan, who came back from a nine-month injury lay-off in September, added his side’s fourth – and his second – 10 minutes after the break.

“Ilkay Gundogan is an extraordinary player. Last season we missed him a lot with injury for six months and that’s why we are so satisfied, not just the quality but personality to play,” Guardiola told BT Sport.

The return leg at the Etihad on 7 March ought to be standard for City, who lead the Premier League by 16 focuses and face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup last.