Pep Guardiola hailed one of the finest performances of his Manchester City reign after his side returned to the top of the Premier League table following a 1-0 success at Bournemouth.

Substitute Riyad Mahrez scored the second-half winner at the Vitality Stadium to move Guardiola's champions two points above title rivals Liverpool ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby.

City, who prevented the hosts from registering a shot on target, dominated proceedings in Dorset and would have won by a far bigger margin had it not been for an inspired second-half performance from Cherries goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

"Their technical level was so high. We're waiting for mistakes, for them to force passes, get frustrated and they didn't.

"They kept doing the right thing, the simple thing and it meant that our chances to attack in the game were really limited.

"It's that control that made it very difficult for us to get a foothold in the game in any way."