How 'undroppable' Silva is Man City's 'coach on the pitch'
- Published
At this point in the season, Bernardo Silva is undroppable. His experience, tactical understanding and positional versatility make him Pep Guardiola's coach on the pitch, capable of adapting to ensure Manchester City can tweak their tactics game to game.
A big part of his role this season has been assisting City's build-up. Although City's new signings are capable, in a league where man-marking is more common this season, Silva has been seen dropping extremely deep.
Against Leeds, Silva, alongside Rodri, dropped in as central defenders. This moved the centre-backs out of areas that are harder to play in under pressure, catching the opposition off-guard. Both midfielders excelled on the ball here and helped City progress up the pitch.
Bernardo Silva and Rodri took up centre-back positions in this City goal-kick against Leeds, allowing them to evade the opposition's press and move the ball up the pitch
His role out of possession has been paramount to City's revival in the second part of the campaign too. The game against Liverpool in November showcased the City captain's tactical understanding of how and when to press.
City cut off passing lanes to Virgil van Dijk, forcing the ball to Ibrahima Konate, the weaker of Liverpool's two ball-playing centre-backs.
Phil Foden pressed Konate when the ball went out to him and Silva was tasked with deciding which of the midfielders to press, Ryan Gravenberch or Alexis Mac Allister, and it was something he did intelligently.
Liverpool made tweaks of their own by dropping Gravenberch into the right of what later became a back three. It was Silva here who amended City's press, negating the visitors' change.
Foden continued to press the right centre-back, Gravenberch, while Silva switched between pressing Mac Allister and Konate, who was now positioned in the middle of the back three.
It is easy for the small details to be missed by fans, but Silva's contributions are indispensable for his manager, who said in November: "He doesn't score too many goals or is not involved in all the assists but he gives us something that is not in the stats, and a lot of things that are incredibly valuable to us.
"[He is] absolutely one of the best players I have ever trained in my career."
Bernardo Silva's role against Liverpool out of possession changed mid-game. Here he is blocking the pass to Mac Allister behind him, while applying pressure to Konate on the ball