PEP Guardiola was full of praise for Oxford United after seeing his Manchester City side claim victory at the Kassam Stadium last night.

Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden fired the Carabao Cup holders to a 3-0 victory.

But the Premier League champions only killed off their hard-working Sky Bet League One hosts when doubling their lead with 12 minutes to go.

The late strikes arrived when United found themselves stretched as they looked to find a memorable goal.

And City boss Guardiola spoke highly of Karl Robinson’s side.

The Spaniard said: “I’m quite impressed.

“We spoke with my players about Oxford and we were really impressed with the way they tried to play and the way they did many things.

“The strikers are strong, the wingers they are so fast, so quick, but we controlled them quite well and we didn’t concede too many chances.

“This kind of game shows me a lot of things about my team in terms of how they fought for every ball. That is why we are champions of this tournament.

“This competition is so tough and it’s one game, no extra-time and anything can happen.

“Winning 3-0 looks easy but it’s not, so that is why I pay a big compliment to our team.”