SCOTT Parker described Manchester City as the "best team" he has ever seen across his 25 years in professional football, insisting boss Pep Guardiola remains "underestimated".

Guardiola's side comfortably dispatched of Cherries 4-0 at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, to go top of the embryonic Premier League table, in their quest for a third title on the spin.

The Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the game's great managers, having won three league titles as manager of Barcelona, before adding three more in charge of Bayern Munich, before joining City in 2016.

The four-time Premier League winner has also guided clubs to a host of other major trophies and won the World Coach of the Year crown once, although that came way back in 2011.

After Saturday's contest, Guardiola praised the way Parker had set his team up defensively, also likening some of their attacking plans to Champions League side Tottenham Hotspur.

The two bosses also had a lengthy chat after just outside the Etihad Stadium press conference room after the game on Saturday.

Asked about the praise Guardiola had given his side and the pair's conversation, Parker told the Daily Echo: "That’s nice to hear. I was just having a chat with him.

"Someone who is exceptional in what he does really.

"He goes underestimated. Mad to say that really, what I’m saying. But I get people can see the quality, see the money one team is spending in Man City, but when you analyse that team and how well they’re coached and how functional they are in every aspect, it is pretty remarkable and that’s definitely down to him."

Parker was also asked if this current Manchester City side is as good a side as he has seen in his time in football, both as a player and manager.

The 41-year-old, who broke into the first-team squad at Charlton Athletic in 1997 and made his first steps into management in 2019, said: "Yeah, a million per cent, the best team.

"Just everything about them. Most well-coached team. Functionally, technically, just everything about their game model is just very difficult to play against.

"It’s not just the quality of what they’re playing at as well. They obviously dominate the ball, but at that point, large parts of your game you need certain profile in your team to be able to hurt them.

"Nine times out of 10, when you’re a team like us, it’s going to be counter, it’s going to be transitions, and you need a certain player profile to get you up the pitch.

"The pitch becomes so big for opposition teams and even then, positionally they’re so well coached that you often find they’ve always got it locked down.

"And then obviously on the flip side, they’ve got their positions in the attacking phase, which can hurt and they’re committed to them."

Quizzed on how much more of a threat they now are with Erling Haaland up front, Parker added: "It’s not just Haaland. For me, it’s 11 players on that pitch with Man City and that quality that they have.

"I get why people would highlight one player in Haaland – new signing and obviously an exceptional centre-forward. But you see the quality all over their pitch really.

"(Kevin) De Bruyne’s goal and the quality that they possess, (Phil) Foden, (Ilkay) Gundogan. You focus on one player and there’s another one popping up who is going to cause you problems. That’s just the way it is. As a team and as a unit, you need to do what you can do."