Fighter' Liam leaves Guardiola impressed

PEP Guardiola described Liam Delap as a 'fighter' after he finally made his City return after six months of injury trouble.

- STUART BRENNAN

The 18-year-old almost capped his 15-minute appearance as a substitute by heading in Ilkay Gundogan's cross as the Blues beat Fulham 4-1 in the FA Cup, only for the linesman's flag to rule it out for offside.

But Guardiola gave the youngster the ultimate boost by extolling his virtues, and mentioning how, despite his tender years, he can physically dominate senior pros.

Delap was on the brink of a big first-team chance in the summer, with City left with no strikers after the failure to land Harry Kane, but an ankle injury saw him miss the three pre-season games as well as the opening months of the season.