The Blues continued their 100% start to the campaign with a thumping 4-0 triumph over Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening Champions League group fixture – a seventh successive win.
Kelechi Iheanacho netted late on, as the hosts continued to impress with scintillating attacking and solid defensive displays.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the manager expressed his delight.
He declared: “With what these players have done since the beginning - in our games home and away - our players deserve the standing ovation. The players deserve the stadium completely full. Hopefully, against Barcelona and Celtic it will happen.
“I’m really happy. I’m so happy. I knew how difficult and important this game was. If we didn’t get points in the first game at home against Gladbach, it would make games against Barcelona and Celtic more difficult.
“Today was the most important game in the season. Considering the opponent and the pressure, we played really, really good - the players played at a high level.
“I know perfectly Borussia. The coach always created a lot of problems for us when I was at Bayern. We dominated and we were so aggressive with and without the ball. It was difficult for them to control our build-up because of our movement between each other.
“It’s a good moment to enjoy our football with our fans. That is our future in the Champions League.
“The fans have to know we play for them. It’s our job. We need them in the Champions League to beat the best teams in the world. We cannot make something good in the Champions League in the coming years without them.
“With this spirit and the way we’ve played in these games, I am confident I am going to enjoy this year.”
Kun, returning to the line-up, received deserved acclaim from his manager, who insists he has done little to spark the Argentine’s excellent form.
“He was good with Manuel [Pellegrini], he was good with the national team… I only wanted to convince him that his talent of scoring in the box is natural,” Guardiola stated.
“I cannot teach that. He has to know the team around is going to help him. He is going to score a lot of goals.”
The Blues boss also reserved praise for debutant Ilkay Gundogan, who starred following a lengthy absence through injury.
“It shows how good he is,” Guardiola purred. “After three of four months out, today we had a talk with him and he said he was ready. He is so intelligent - he knew exactly when to control the efforts. I thought he could play 90 minutes.
“He is so intelligent and he is really good when arriving in the box. His qualities will help us a lot. Thank you to Txiki [Begiristain] for buying him!
“It’s always a surprise when a player goes so long without playing and plays the way he did. We are happy with his great performance.”
Guardiola also delivered an update on David Silva, who had been named in the original line-up on Tuesday but was withdrawn as a precaution 24 hours later.
He said: “For him, it is not a big problem but enough for him not to play. I don’t know if he will be in time to play against Bournemouth but hopefully, against Swansea he will be ready.”
