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#4 The Silva duo
Manchester City captain David Silva is arguably the greatest ever player in the club’s history. Many would make a case for Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany but the Spaniard has been absolutely incredible for City since his arrival in 2010.
Now in his tenth and final season for the club, Silva, 33, is captaining a City side which has broken all domestic records in their last two campaigns. As much as fans love to see the midfielder’s magic and trickery, he has somewhat been off-the-pace lately. He is, at times, slow to react and fails to grasp the high-tempo of the game. Statistically speaking, Silva has lost more balls in his own half compared to last season and his average ball recoveries in the opponent’s half has also dropped. His passing accuracy has also taken a downward fall and he doesn’t score as frequently as he did in previous seasons. No doubt Silva is still one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, Guardiola needs to stop starting him in every game. The Spaniard played 90 minutes against both Newcastle and Burnley before United. If he were to be rested properly, David Silva could offer much more to this City team.
One replacement for Silva in the left-sided midfield role is his Portuguese namesake Bernardo Silva. The 25-year-old has been one of City’s signings of the decade after his £43 million acquisition in 2017. However, last season was when he came on his own. Bernardo not only played an all-important role in City’s domestic exploits but also won the inaugural UEFA Nations League with Portugal bagging the Player of the Tournament award. However, he has been subpar at the right-wing position this season. Like David Silva, his ball retention and recovery patterns have faltered, and his attacking productivity has also taken a hit.
Guardiola’s stubbornness to put Bernardo on the wing despite him being a more centrally-suited player has continually raised eyebrows. This has also hampered Riyad Mahrez’s playing time, who is not only an out-and-out right-winger but has also been in red-hot form for City this season. Guardiola needs to address the fact that David Silva cannot start every game and that Bernardo Silva’s natural position is in the middle of the park, only then can he get the best out of them.
