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Pep Guardiola considered Bernardo Silva’s first goal against Sporting CP on Tuesday “one of the best I’ve ever seen”.
Silva, a former Benfica player returning to Lisbon, netted twice in Manchester City’s stunning 5-0 defeat of Sporting in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
The moment of the match came 17 minutes in when the City midfielder thundered a half-volley in off the crossbar to put the visitors two up.
Silva had not scored a Champions League goal since the same stage of last year’s tournament, with his two on Tuesday meaning five of his eight City strikes in the competition have been netted in the last 16.
This was Silva’s first ever Champions League brace and took him to 10 goals for the season in all competitions – his most in a single club campaign since 13 in 2018-19.
Guardiola has long felt Silva could score more often, as he told a news conference: “Always I tell him: Bernardo, you are a perfect player, defensively so intuitive, can run 12km, 13km – but with sense, not just running for running – and with the ball he’s more than exceptional.
“But I always say: you have to score goals, you have to win games, you have the ability to do it.
“And today, with the [first] goal, he scored one of the best I’ve ever seen – for the technique, for everything. Hopefully he can get confidence [from the goal].”
Silva also added his third assist of the season for Raheem Sterling’s fifth goal, while his three tackles were a joint-high among City players in an all-action display that showed why Guardiola considers the midfielder “unique”.
“He can play in six roles, easily,” the City manager said. “He doesn’t just play football; he understands the game. There are players that play good with the ball, but he understands the game, exactly what he needs with every action.
“There are few in the world [like him], few. He’s a fantastic player.
“Hopefully he can stay with Man City for many, many years, but it depends of course the club will decide and himself.”
