MY ACCOUNT
As Manchester City chase the treble, Bernardo Silva continues to perform at his brilliant best.
The mesmerisingly graceful midfielder is arguably enjoying the strongest season of his career, having already equalled his highest Premier League goals return this term.
And as we approach the business end of the campaign, the Portuguese maestro is bound to be crucial to the fortunes of Pep Guardiola’s side.
So, ahead of this afternoon’s FA Cup quarter-final trip to Southampton, we shine a light on the Citizens’ star man.
A sliding doors moment
Silva might not even be a City player by now, if a certain summer transfer saga had played out differently.
The 27-year-old was linked with a move to Tottenham as part of any deal to bring Harry Kane to the Etihad Stadium. In fact, Guardiola even stated at the time that Silva wanted to leave.
Evidently, none of that came to fruition — and getting through that period of apparent uncertainty seems to have given Silva a new lease of life.
The right role
When you play under Guardiola, the chances are that you are going to be asked to perform various roles.
That is certainly true of Silva. The former Monaco and Benfica man has been deployed out wide in a front three, at centre-forward and as one of the advanced players in a three-man midfield while at the Etihad.
This season, he has predominantly operated in the latter of those roles and is clearly reaping the rewards.
The sense that this is the Lisbon native’s best position was further emphasised by his reduced effectiveness when used as a false nine in recent matches.
Goals galore
With 10 goals so far this term, Silva is up to double figures in all competitions for the first time since 2018-19 when he finished the campaign with a personal best tally of 13.
Currently scoring at a rate of a goal every 301.2 minutes, the 64-cap international is on course to go one better this time around.
In fact, with a little bit of luck, there is every chance that he will reach 50 career goals for City before the season is out — he is currently only five away from reaching that landmark.
Pass master
Despite only providing four assists this season, Silva’s importance to City as an attacking force cannot be underestimated.
Along with Kevin De Bruyne, he forms that key conduit between their midfield and the forward line, progressing play with expert precision.
No Premier League midfielder has completed more passes into the final third this term than Silva (566) and the only player in any position to outrank him in that respect is City full-back Joao Cancelo (696).
And the Citizens’ No20 showed off his supreme passing powers most stunningly of all in his team’s November Champions League group stage win over Paris Saint-Germain.
He completed an astonishing 47 passes out of 47 in that match, including a deft assist for Gabriel Jesus’ winner.
A true team player
In an interview earlier this month, Silva bemoaned those who lean too heavily on statistics when assessing players — and noted the impact that it can have.
He said: “Nowadays unfortunately a lot of players tend to drive themselves towards this craziness of wanting to score as many goals as they can or making as many assists as possible.
“If you go to the social media and if you don’t score and you don’t make assists, people will say that you’re not a good player. That’s just crazy.
“But what’s the point in me getting an assist if we lose 3-1? I don’t want an assist if my team loses 3-1.
“You should look at what’s best for your team, and not what’s best for you. That’s much more important than finishing the season with 30 goals or 30 assists.”
Of course, City would not have enjoyed such success without assembling a squad brimming with world-class players — but their triumphs also owe much to the attitude of those stars.
Silva exemplifies what this team is all about.
