Bernardo Silva is a special case. Josep Guardiola is not one to be a huge admirer of his players, but most weeks he gushes about his captain’s performances. why? Simply because Bernardo is timeless. His performance against Arsenal was a game-changer for Manchester City’s title chances.
The 31-year-old is, of course, an expert in this field. He, like the few remaining players at City, knows the ins and outs of a title-winning campaign thoroughly.
But six-time champions Manchester City’s metronome has been a rare asset in truly understanding the intricacies of being Premier League champions throughout the campaign. Perhaps only Rodri and Erling Haaland (of the players who will start against Arsenal) can be classified similarly.
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Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola pays tribute to ‘special’ Bernardo Silva after defeating Arsenal 2-1
Bernardo has been with Guardiola since the beginning of his reign and last week confirmed this season would be his last in Manchester. The poetic ending might claim yet another title. It would be perfect for a very ephemeral player. Few have the grace or force to surpass any iteration of Guardiola’s City. Bernardo does.
His specialty is with the ball, but what impressed me most against Arsenal was what he did without it. Rayan Cherki will get all the credit for setting the tone with a brilliant opener, but if you look at the delicate run that caused confusion for the players trying to thwart the scorer, it was Bernardo who scored it. Declan Rice is obsessed.
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Rayan Cherki gives Man City the lead against Arsenal in the Premier League
When Kai Havertz was tied one-on-one with Gianluigi Donnarumma, it was Bernardo who leaned on him to keep him off balance. When Martin Odegaard is absent, Bernardo tracks him down. And when City found themselves behind by Coche in the closing stages, it was the Portuguese playmaker who scored the decisive clear header, beating Victor Goqueres in the air.
The move led Haaland to record as many wins in a City shirt as David Silva (214), leading him to be likened to Italian great Fabio Cannavaro.
Most of this work will be imperceptible to the untrained eye. But not Pep. At a press conference, her boss said, “I just feel grateful. If I talk about it a lot, I end up crying someday.” “From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you all for your efforts. Bernardo has proven that soccer begins here,” he added, pointing to his head.
It’s that intelligence that Guardiola, who once joked he wanted to use 11 Bernardo Silvas, is keen on. “My nine years would have been completely different without him. He’s special.”
Rarely has a player as unassuming as Bernardo been so unique in his reading of the game. The vision and complementary skills to execute the path in this book are rare. No Man City player has attempted more passes into the final third (583), although only Matheus Nunez has completed more passes this season.
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Gary Neville says Manchester City can smell the title after their decisive win over Arsenal and says Bernardo Silva put in a performance that was “above and beyond”
However, only by reconsidering the functions of a traditional central midfielder can Bernardo’s role at City be accurately analyzed. He is a key person in every phase. Engineer and warrior. When he doesn’t have the ball, he organizes like a terrier, attacking the press, intercepting and making tackles. He has covered a total distance of 327km this season, which is 40km longer than runner-up Haaland, or more than a full marathon. No wonder he was the toughest runner against Arsenal (12.3km).
On the ball, he is as close to matching Kevin De Bruyne’s talent as anyone. That is why, along with the great Belgian, he will be the most difficult player to replace.
There is no duplicate of De Bruyne’s genius, just as there is no duplicate of Bernardo. However, the latter completely goes against the profile of a new-age midfielder. He is neither tall nor physically imposing. Just last week, he joked in a video with teammate Ruben Diaz: “I don’t do gym. It’s for players who don’t know how to handle the ball.”
Positionally, Bernardo is almost always accurate. Smartness against sprints (a metric that ranks him 46th among midfielders in the league). But when the advantage is two steps away, pace and strength become essential assets. Haaland calls him “the smartest player I’ve ever played with.”
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Erling Haaland thinks Bernardo Silva is the ‘smartest player’ he has ever played with
And the end of the chapter on Bernardo’s Manchester City career this summer will mark another poignant change. It’s a sign that the end for Guardiola is certainly near. Perhaps no player epitomizes the Spanish manager’s decade better.
But for now, his influence on City’s latest bid for the title has been strongly felt. A player who, as Gary Neville would say, simply ‘seizes the game’, much like Paul Scholes did during Manchester United’s era of unimaginable success. Control, dominance, the ability to speed up or slow down at will. That’s Bernardo Silva.
452 games into his unbeatable City career, he remains a strikingly unique figure.
