Bernardo Silva started alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne in the heart of the Manchester City midfield at the weekend and his performance has led to the supporters calling for him to continue in the role.
The Portuguese international’s pass completion rate stood at 93% and both he and De Bruyne’s ability to pop up in pockets of space and dictate the play proved too much for the Foxes to handle.
Bernardo has been noted as struggling in recent weeks but its worth noting that he’s been deployed in a wider position – an area in which he’s visibly less comfortable.
The fans have picked up on it too and, as a result, they’re urging Pep Guradiola to persist with the 25-year-old in the middle of the park.
Do you prefer Bernardo Silva in the centre of midfield?
Yes
No
Great!!! Bernardo in central m/field is a must going forward. Also loved the chemistry between De Bruyne & Mahrez…just need to polish our finishing and we’ll bury most teams at this rate.
— Qaqambile (@DonQminati) December 22, 2019
We were awesome! All players. A swift reminder to everyone that we are the champions and just how good we can be. B Silva in the midfield should stay a thing btw!
— RyanD2588 (@D2588Ryan) December 22, 2019
Finally Bernardo is playing in the middle!
— Colin (@BeckettColin) December 22, 2019
Finally Pep played Bernado where we would like him tp play every time
— Davie KE™?? (@deviyce) December 22, 2019
Playing Bernardo centre mid and KDB further forward is master class !!
Putting Kyle in back 3 to watch Vardy who never got a touch second half also quality.— Chris (@Bromster63) December 22, 2019
Pep should never play bernardo silva on the wings again. He belongs in central midfield.
— Kriss Michaels (@Kriss0077) December 22, 2019
What do we think?
Although he’s failed to reproduce the form he displayed last season, you have to acknowledge that he isn’t the only one. Manchester City should be closer to Liverpool in the race for the Premier League but there are a number of reasons as to why that is not the case.
It can be argued that the £90m-rated midfielder’s attributes make him better suited to a more central role but perhaps in the past, Guardiola didn’t feel it allowed him to find the right balance. His performance versus one of the Premier League’s standout sides will no doubt force the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss to think again and fans will be hoping he listens to what they have told him on social media.