Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester City
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Bernardo Silva is currently the best player in the Premier League, after the Portuguese scored a memorable goal in their 2-1 victory at Aston Vila.
Rúben Dias also found the net for City, but Bernardo’s goal and his increasingly impressive performances this term are seeing many claim the former Benfica man is in the best form of his career.
City travelled to Birmingham on the back of five straight wins and Portugal defender Dias set them on the road to a sixth when his shot from outside the area took a deflection and flew past Emiliano Martinez into the bottom corner on 27 minutes.
The crucial second goal arrived just a couple of minutes before the break and it was a sensational team goal by City. From a Villa attack, Fernandinho sprung a clinical counter with a ball down the right flank to Gabriel Jesus, whose cross into the penalty area found Bernardo Silva to connect with the purest of sidefoot volleys into the top corner.
The best bits from tonight's crucial win at Villa Park ?#ManCity pic.twitter.com/l3gg2vMzNs
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 2, 2021
An excellent finish from Ollie Watkins and late pressure from Villa made City work for their win, but after the match the brilliance of Bernardo was a major talking point. Asked by the media if the Portuguese is one of the top “two or three” players in the league, Guardiola emphatically replied that Bernardo is the best in the Premier League.
Guardiola on Bernardo: plain and simple ? pic.twitter.com/tgqz6uEm5T
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) December 2, 2021
By Sean Gillen
