Manchester City are in turmoil after losing a fifth straight game against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
Pep Guardiola watched his side fall to an awful defeat at the Etihad Stadium, with Spurs picking apart City’s crumbling defence.
Guardiola admitted after the game that City are ‘fragile defensively’, and there are major concerns about the team without Rodri.
A number of players who are usually so reliable in a sky blue shirt have just not performed so far this season, leading to calls from some fans for a rebuild.
One player who has been struggling to exert his usual influence is Bernardo Silva, with Micah Richards offering a pretty damning verdict.
Bernardo Silva branded only ‘50% of the player’ he was last season for Man City
This season we’ve seen several experienced players just not reach the levels expected.
Phil Foden has dropped off massively after winning Player of the Season in 2023/24, and Kyle Walker has put in a number of terrible performances.
But alarmingly, Bernardo Silva has also been way off it.
Bernardo is usually that player you can rely on to give at least 7/10 performances every game. He’s normally so dependable, and a player rival fans have underrated for years. When Kevin De Bruyne is unavailable he has historically stood up to be counted for, but that hasn’t been the case this term.
He’s been among those struggling in 2024/25, and Richards gave a pretty savage verdict on the Rest is Football podcast.
He said of the Portuguese: “Bernardo Silva is playing 50% of the player that we saw last season. There’s no real bite in midfield. Of course, losing Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is always going to be difficult for the balance, no Kovacic as well.”
Bernardo Silva form is a concern
Bernardo has long been a superb player for Manchester City and it’s making for uncomfortable viewing seeing him struggle at the moment.
It’s just not something fans associate with him given his consistency and quality.
But right now he’s failing to have the kind of influence he normally does, and it’s paramount that he improves moving forward. Bernardo recently claimed City were in a dark place, and he and his teammates must now fight to get out of it.
| Bernardo Silva for Man City (2017-present) |
| Appearances – 371 |
| Goals – 67 |
| Assists – 69 |
| Trophies won – 18 |
By no means has been among the worst performers this season. But perhaps the £43 million man up there with the most disappointing, purely because of how good he normally is.
Him playing in midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan is not something that works due to the lack of athleticism, and he also doesn’t do too well on the wing these days.
Potentially, there’s an argument that he and Gundogan shouldn’t be in the team right now, with Matheus Nunes and James McAtee waiting in the wings for chances in midfield.
