Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said that he was reminded of Lionel Messi through the goals scored by Bernardo Silva in the 6-1 victory over Bournemouth in the 11th round of the Premier League.
“Silva is an exceptional player. He scored two fantastic goals,” Guardiola said about his player after the 6-1 victory over Bournemouth on November 4th. “The way he handled the second goal looked like Messi, who has done that many times. Everyone is very happy to have Silva in the team.”
In the match at Etihad Stadium in the 11th round of the Premier League, Silva scored two goals, both from assists by Jeremy Doku. For the second goal, the Portuguese star cushioned the ball with one touch, beating goalkeeper Andrei Radu to make it 2-0. Silva’s goal to make it 5-1 was reminiscent of Messi’s style, as he broke the offside trap, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and slotted the ball into the net. In the first half, from a corner kick, Silva had a chance similar to Messi when he narrowly missed the target with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area.
When asked if Silva is one of the best players in the Premier League or Europe, Coach Guardiola responded: “He is the best in the world. I’ve said this many times. Maybe I praise Silva too much. But he deserves it.”
Silva, despite being 1.73 meters tall and having a small frame, possesses exceptional physicality and a left foot as skillful as Messi’s. The 29-year-old player’s intelligence and style of play are also similar to his Argentine counterpart. In the summer of 2023, after failing to convince Messi to return to Barcelona, Coach Xavi personally called Silva to persuade him to join the Catalan club. However, the deal did not go through, as Manchester City demanded a transfer fee of over $80 million for Silva.
Silva was not the best player in the match against Bournemouth. The player who left the most significant mark was Doku, with one goal and four assists, as well as several dribbles that troubled the visiting team’s defense.
“We know Doku is powerful in one-on-one situations,” Guardiola said about the Belgian winger. “What surprised me was his intelligence when dribbling. Doku’s decisive passes also make me feel like he understands everything and reads the game very well.”
Manchester City won 6-1, but Pep Guardiola also had concerns as Erling Haaland suffered a calf injury and left the field after the first half. The Spanish coach couldn’t confirm the severity of the injury immediately after the match. “He had a slight calf strain, and we hope it’s not a big issue. We’ll assess the situation in the coming hours,” Guardiola said about Haaland.
The decision to substitute Haaland at halftime shows that Guardiola doesn’t want to take risks, with Manchester City having a Champions League match against Young Boys on the horizon, followed by an away game at Chelsea over the weekend.
