Pep Guardiola saluted Yaya Toure for his "perfect" form since coming back into the fold at Manchester City after the midfielder scored a fine free-kick in Saturday's 3-0 FA Cup win over Crystal Palace.
Toure was frozen out at the start of the season after Guardiola and the Ivorian's agent Dimitri Seluk became engaged in a row via the media.
The Catalan insisted Toure would not play until he apologised for Seluk claiming Guardiola had humiliated the player by not including him in City's Champions League squad.
Toure eventually offered a public apology and the former Barcelona midfielder found himself back in first-team reckoning in November.
Since then Toure has played 11 matches in the Premier League, nine of which have been from the start and he played a starring role in the FA Cup on Saturday, leading Guardiola to lavish praise on him.
He told reporters: "We can play better but I'm happy and David [Silva] was amazing the way he kept waiting and waiting for the right moment before playing in Leroy [Sane] – and Yaya, with his quality, scoring the third – he is an exceptional player.
"Last time we came here [on November 19] he won the game and today he scored an exceptional goal from a long way out.
"Since he has come back to the team he has been playing perfect."
Vincent Kompany's return from numerous injuries was also a boost for City and Guardiola, with the Belgian completing a full match for the first time since the 1-1 draw at Newcastle United in April 2016.
"We are also happy for Vincent," he added. "He's had a long time away and he played 90 minutes today with no injuries.
"Now he can go forward with confidence and we have another player for the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League which is very important because the games will come thick and fast now."
