Guardiola delighted with Delap and Steffen following Man City debuts

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his delight at the debut performance of young striker Liam Delap and goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

The 17-year-old Delap opened the scoring on Thursday night as City edged past Bournemouth 2-1 in the third round of the Carabao Cup. 

Delap was picked out by fellow City youngster Phil Foden in the 18th minute and made the most of it with an excellent finish rifled into the top corner of goal. 

The teenage striker would end up playing the full 90 minutes on debut - scoring with his one and only shot of the game.

With Sergio Aguero still recovering from injury, Guardiola's side are somewhat short on strikers and the City manager hinted Delap could be due more game time after impressing on debut and bringing a different dimension to the side. 

"He’s a different striker to what we have in terms of physicality. We see in training how good a finisher he is. Now he has to be calm and keep working," Guardiola said of Delap post-match. 

"We are delighted with his performance - he played really well."

American goalkeeper Steffen also made a rare start for City on Thursday and despite conceding, Guardiola also liked what he saw from the 25-year-old.

"Well the goal we conceded was almost unstoppable. We didn’t defend the shot properly. After, he saved on a counter attack," Guardiola said when asked about Steffen.

"He was calm. He was safe. He gave a good performance."

City have now won their first two games of the new season after also beating Wolves 3-1 on Monday and next face Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday. 

The Foxes have also won their first two matches of the new campaign and scored seven goals in the process as they look to pose a challenge for City's defence. 

"It will be incredibly tough, we know that. It is always difficult and it will be no exception," Guardiola said of facing Leicester. 

"We play at home. I see the team really well in terms of happiness. The young players help us a lot and we move forward."