Bernardo Silva played 90 minutes for Manchester City in their win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian capital. The Portuguese attacker has struggled to replicate his incredible form of last season and that has led to criticism from some sections of the clubs support.
Silva, who is valued at £90m by TransferMarkt.co.uk, expressed his pleasure at helping the side return to winning ways via Twitter but the replies were hijacked by those calling for Riyad Mahrez to start ahead of him at the weekend.
Should Mahrez start over Bernardo Silva in the Premier League?
Yes
No
sorry but @Mahrez22 is better than you
— liloiiii_tt (@liloiiii) December 11, 2019
Mahrez is the best
— Belkacem? (@Belkace02977847) December 12, 2019
Yeah . Thanks it’s good with riad Mehrez ????
— oricha salah (@SalahOricha) December 12, 2019
You should never start game #GIVEMAHREZACHANCE
— Roan Madegwa (@RoanMadegwa) December 12, 2019
There were others however who were quick to point out that City need to continue to win games and feel victories against the likes of Dinamo Zagreb should be a minimum expectation rather than something that deserves over the top praise.
Maybe we should stay in winning ways this time?
— ?BLUE BLOOD? (@City_4Eva) December 12, 2019
Really!!??
— ?Jøhn Snõw? (@IBennouioua) December 11, 2019
What do we think?
According to WhoScored.com, Bernardo Silva’s performance on Wednesday was worthy of a 7.8/10 rating which incidentally was the same as that awarded to Riyad Mahrez. The 25-year-old will be the first to criticise his performances at certain points this season but it’s clear Pep Guardiola still has great belief in the former Monaco player’s ability.
Silva in many ways is a victim of his own extremely high standards. During the 2018/19 campaign, he scored 13 goals and provided 14 assists in 51 appearances. So far this season, he has netted five times and set-up goals for his team-mates on six occasions. He may not have hit top gear again just yet but his quality is undeniable and competition within the squad is healthy.