ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Bernardo Silva and the dip in his form concerns Pep Guardiola and Manchester City

Bernardo Silva

Pep Guardiola’s team, Manchester City, now appears to be the second-favorites for the Premier League title. They are behind Arsenal despite their team’s erratic play since the World Cup break. A lot of their players are criticized lately and Bernardo Silva is one of them.

Poor performances against Southampton in the League Cup and in the first half of the triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, along with dropped points against Everton and Manchester United, have made Guardiola‘s team look like a shell of the team that dominated for significant stretches last season.

Following the 4-2 victory over Spurs in their most recent match, the Spanish manager wasn’t shy about criticizing his players, saying:

“We cannot deny how happy we are but we are far away from the team that we were, not in terms of play, we played well in the second half, but there were many things, the competitiveness in terms of what do we have to do that we are far away, far away.”

“I don’t recognise my team. My team always have passion, desire, and run and everything.”

Since the World Cup break, a number of City’s players have failed to maintain the regular play. Phil Foden is one player who has drawn criticism for failing to continue where he left off before Christmas.

The England international was unstoppable in the lead-up to Qatar. He scored seven goals and dished out three assists in the Premier League. However, since domestic football has resumed in England, he has only contributed one goal. It came in a 4-0 FA Cup thrashing of Chelsea.

Read More: Rodri was Manchester City’s real hero against Tottenham

Bernardo Silva has been poor after the World Cup

The most guilty party in Guardiola’s team, though, maybe Bernardo Silva. The Portugal international has now gone 13 games without scoring a goal.

Silva, who makes £150,000 per week at the Etihad, started the season strong. He tallied two goals and five assists in the top division. However, he hasn’t scored or provided an assist since August and it’s understandable why he’s been on the bench so frequently lately.

The former Monaco star was linked with Barcelona last summer, and Guardiola was likely glad to keep him at the Etihad given that, in Dion Dublin’s opinion, the player has established himself as a “world-class” player while at the club. Given Silva’s recent poor form, it may not come as a surprise that City haven’t played at their most creative level. The Portuguese talisman needs to score more goals if he wants to keep his starting position at the Etihad; otherwise, Guardiola may be more inclined to let him go at the end of the current campaign.

Follow us on Twitter for more updates.

To Top