20 | Bernardo Silva - 2025/26

Craig said:
I get that Bernardo could support a full back if we were up against a top winger or needed to keep the ball when he was a great player. Did you watch him today though? He was a complete hindrance and could do neither.Was never quick but the lad looks so far off the pace it’s cringeworthy to see.
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I agree that he would be far better utilised in central midfield, but he’s always been a team player and will play wherever Guardiola needs him. Despite the positivity of today’s result, we remain imbalanced as a side and still have too many injuries and players out of form. Until we get more back, Silva will probably have to anchor that side, since most there are relatively young, inexperienced, and/or playing out of position: Nunes, Lewis, Khusanov, Bobb, Savinho, and Cherki.
 
Chak19 said:
And you have to say it worked, Dorgu had minimal impact against Bernie/Khus and most of their dangerous attacks came from the other side, Diallo had to joing Mbuemo on our Left side to be dangerous.
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I’ve never seen Dorgu’s impact on any game of football rise above “minimal”

The Rags looked much better down their right because they have much better players on that side. That’s it
 
Gordyola said:
The most striking thing about Bernie is he never use to loose the ball no matter how big or how many opponents around him he would come out with the ball his nickname was bubblegum as the ball sticks to his feet Unfortunately it looks like age has caught up with him or he just needs a dam good rest due to the number of games he played so lately
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Unfortunately, I do think this is spot-on. Bernardo is a great player, and a legend, but at this moment he seems to be much more easily picked off than he did, and once that happens he has not got the recovery pace to win it back.
 
Disagree with a lot of posters here.
Granted, Bernardo has lost quite a bit of athleticism, but he's still one of the finest passers in the world, and his touch on the ball is still top-notch.
Here're some interesting stats:
In the four league games played so far, City is unbeaten while Bernardo's on the pitch. By that sense, City would have got 8 points, same as Arsenal, just four points behind leader Liverpool.
That's a small sample, but could suggest that Bernardo is still key to the success of this team. Just like an older Luka Modric or Toni Kroos who slowed down quite a bit but still contributed to Real's success while they're playing for that team.
In the Portugal VS. Hungary World Cup Qualifying game, Bernardo scored one and assisted another. In the Manchester derby, he assisted Haaland on the third goal. These are solid contributions that shouldn't be sniffed at.
Also, in the Manchester derby, once Bernardo was subbed off, the team just looked kind of clueless, which is a bit baffling but might suggest that Bernardo's role on the pitch is more important than you think.
 
CITY125 said:
Disagree with a lot of posters here.
Granted, Bernardo has lost quite a bit of athleticism, but he's still one of the finest passers in the world, and his touch on the ball is still top-notch.
Here're some interesting stats:
In the four league games played so far, City is unbeaten while Bernardo's on the pitch. By that sense, City would have got 8 points, same as Arsenal, just four points behind leader Liverpool.
That's a small sample, but could suggest that Bernardo is still key to the success of this team. Just like an older Luka Modric or Toni Kroos who slowed down quite a bit but still contributed to Real's success while they're playing for that team.
In the Portugal VS. Hungary World Cup Qualifying game, Bernardo scored one and assisted another. In the Manchester derby, he assisted Haaland on the third goal. These are solid contributions that shouldn't be sniffed at.
Also, in the Manchester derby, once Bernardo was subbed off, the team just looked kind of clueless, which is a bit baffling but might suggest that Bernardo's role on the pitch is more important than you think.
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That’s where stats over a very small sample size can be very misleading. You’d have to go back a very long way to see a worse cameo as Bernie against Spurs. Against Brighton we were getting completely overrun when he got subbed off. Fair enough the subs didn’t alter that but he was struggling big time before that. Against utd he was very poor. Very simple pass into acres of space for his assist. Been a great player but wouldn’t particularly rave about his passing. It was more his touch, quick feet and ability to get about the pitch that stood out. At the moment his touch is all he’s got going for him.
 
I think he provides some know how and as others have said, we're doing better this season with him in the team than not. But man is he physically washed. He was already the slowest player in the league last year and I feel like it's got worse. I thought he got bullied a lot in the derby, and he's going to lose almost every duel that comes down to pace and strength.

I reckon in the team until some of the new lads are settled in, then to the bench.
 
CITY125 said:
Disagree with a lot of posters here.
Granted, Bernardo has lost quite a bit of athleticism, but he's still one of the finest passers in the world, and his touch on the ball is still top-notch.
Here're some interesting stats:
In the four league games played so far, City is unbeaten while Bernardo's on the pitch. By that sense, City would have got 8 points, same as Arsenal, just four points behind leader Liverpool.
That's a small sample, but could suggest that Bernardo is still key to the success of this team. Just like an older Luka Modric or Toni Kroos who slowed down quite a bit but still contributed to Real's success while they're playing for that team.
In the Portugal VS. Hungary World Cup Qualifying game, Bernardo scored one and assisted another. In the Manchester derby, he assisted Haaland on the third goal. These are solid contributions that shouldn't be sniffed at.
Also, in the Manchester derby, once Bernardo was subbed off, the team just looked kind of clueless, which is a bit baffling but might suggest that Bernardo's role on the pitch is more important than you think.
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Don't you know that talking sense is frowned upon on here?
 
I think Bernardo is just playing too many games and too many minutes generally. His know how, spirit and technical/tactical ability is priceless. We just need people back fit so we can rest him and use him for specific games and even parts of games. Still an important part of the squad. What a player he has been. Let’s get top 4, let him lift the fa cup and wish him all the best at benfica.
 
Like a few I think he is better suited to CL football where the slightest contact is a foul and the general pace and intensity is lower.

He can't hack it in the prem at the moment. Whether that's due to fatigue from so many games or a bigger decline I don't know. He would always keep the ball under pressure and weave himself some space but now he just ends up getting out muscled and losing it and then can't recover.
 
Some are trying to be conciliatory with him by inventing qualities because there was a victory at the end, but I'd like to see when he gets a negative result. He was great for years, but over the past 18 months, he's been declining more and more.

His performance on Sunday was poor, something never seen in the last nine years from a Pep player. If it were another manager or the player wasn't named Bernardo, he should never come back on the pitch after half-time, he was so catastrophic. Because the team we were facing was weak, and the trio in front of Foden, Doku, and Haaland took matters into their own hands. Against another above-average team, that won't be enough.
 
I predict Bernardo will have much better performances than many expect. Yes, he has peaked and won't be the same. But he will be better over the course of the season than many expect.
 
Craig said:
That’s where stats over a very small sample size can be very misleading. You’d have to go back a very long way to see a worse cameo as Bernie against Spurs. Against Brighton we were getting completely overrun when he got subbed off. Fair enough the subs didn’t alter that but he was struggling big time before that. Against utd he was very poor. Very simple pass into acres of space for his assist. Been a great player but wouldn’t particularly rave about his passing. It was more his touch, quick feet and ability to get about the pitch that stood out. At the moment his touch is all he’s got going for him.
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Remember him at his peak, that home game against Liverpool. He was phenomenal. Work rate, passing, he won almost every challenge. Sadly what I have seen so far this season is a shadow of that player. In the first half vs United he lost the ball almost every time he touched it in the first half. He is caught on the ball like he never was before, dispossessed far too easily and no longer has the pace to win the ball back. I hope it is temporary but fear its not. He is a club legend and I initially thought he would make a good captain but early signs are not great.
 
Bernie was good last night. His role means Pep can play Foden at 10 in big games. With Bobb or Savinho on the right we'd be too open. But against weaker teams Pep will play with one of them and it will be fun to watch.
 
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