Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa
Bernardo Silva offered further evidence that he is rediscovering his best form with the crucial goal as Manchester City finally overcame Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.
The visitors held out for 79 minutes with the match goalless before the Portugal international broke the deadlock with a superb finish, setting City on their way to a sixth straight league victory.
Bernardo, who was joined in Pep Guardiola’s side by countrymen Rúben Dias and João Cancelo, has been increasingly re-establishing his influence at City over recent weeks and with a little over ten minutes to go he proved decisive. The former Benfica man shifted the ball onto his favoured left foot on the edge of the box and whipped a clinical finish inside the far post for what was his first Premier League goal of the season.
“We were persistent and in the end an incredible goal from Bernardo made the difference,” Guardiola told the BBC after watching his team seal the win with a late Ilkay Gundogan penalty. “We had the feeling that the game was [becoming] dangerous but we gained control with a lot of passes and then Bernardo made an exceptional goal.”
"I have said many times, he [Bernardo] is one of the smartest players I have ever seen. He can do everything in all positions and he still has the quality to score goals. It is very good for him and for us. It was a fantastic goal."
For his part, Bernardo added: “It's been a long time [since I scored] and I'm happy to score and help the team. The most important thing is we are leaders for now.
"The team is doing very well. [There is] still a long way to go but we are happy with our momentum and we want to keep going.”
The Bernardo and Gundo show! 💫
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 21, 2021
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klUGiM pic.twitter.com/gIE994Kbz3
The win saw City briefly go top of the Premier League, before Bruno Fernandes and Manchester United reclaimed top spot with a 2-1 victory over Fulham, who had Ivan Cavaleiro in the side. City are now two points behind United with a game in-hand, while champions Liverpool slipped to 4th ahead of Thursday night’s match with Burnley.
By Sean Gillen