Hat-trick hero Bernardo Silva described the opening half-hour of Manchester City's record 8-0 win over Watford as "unbelievable".

After last weekend's shock defeat to Norwich City, Pep Guardiola's side returned to winning ways in the Premier League in spectacular fashion, registering their biggest ever top-flight victory.

David Silva got them on their way after 52 seconds before a Sergio Aguero penalty and goals from Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Nicolas Otamendi put the game out of the sight by the midway point of the first half.

Silva completed the first top-flight hat-trick of his career in the second period before Kevin De Bruyne added an eighth five minutes from time.

Portugal international Silva was in awe of his side's performance and admits he did have some sympathy for Watford's players at the end.

"We were unbelievable in the first 30 minutes, scored lots of goals and had control," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "After the Norwich defeat, it was great to give our fans the result and the performance.

"We aimed to keep it going in the second half. We didn't want them to hurt us or score past us.

"Football is a hard game. I've won 8-0 today but I've lost plenty of times by four or five goals. You just have to keep going so I wished the Watford players well."

De Bruyne was in imperious form and Silva is in doubt about the Belgian's qualities.

"Kevin is a fantastic player," he added. "Everyone knows how good he is when he is fit. When he is playing like today, he is one of the best players in the Premier League."