Guardiola hails Echeverri after first City goal

Pep Guardiola has hailed Claudio Echeverri as an "incredible player" after the Argentinian youngster scored his first goal for Manchester City.

Echeverri found the net with a first-half free-kick on his full City debut as Guardiola's side beat Al Ain 6-0 in Atlanta to book their place in the FIFA Club World Cup knockout rounds.

The 19-year-old was forced off at half-time with an ankle injury. But 45 minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was enough to make an impression on his manager.

"It was a fantastic goal," Guardiola said.

"He's an incredible player in the small spaces. Unfortunately, he could not continue to have time for a problem with the ankle, but yeah, he's truly good in the first minutes, and in this competition he made a fantastic goal, the free kick was really, really, really good."

Echeverri arrived at City in February, but was made to wait until the FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace in May for his first minutes on the pitch.

He made his Premier League debut as a late substitute against Fulham on the final day of the season.

Signed from River Plate in a deal worth around £18.5 million ($25m), he has been linked with a loan move to City Football Group club Girona and his short-term future remains up in the air.

"Since he arrived, the previous season, the three or four months with the lads, at the end of the training session, he was practising the free kicks alone, with the keeper, with the wall," Guardiola continued.

"The other ones they didn't practise, he was practising and practising, and work pays off.

"So at the end, he had the courage, the quality, when you practise, you know, it's like golf or like basketball, as much you practise free shots, the more chances you have."