Man City Ace Was Poor vs Monaco, Pep Guardiola Needs to Drop Him

Manchester City were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw away at AS Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night after a controversial late penalty was awarded to the hosts. The Premier League giants will feel robbed, but there may be one or two questions asked of Pep Guardiola.

The Cityzens looked to be closing in on a second consecutive win in Europe’s elite club competition through Erling Haaland’s brace. Jordan Teze had initially equalised in the 18th minute after Haaland’s opener arrived three minutes earlier.

The Norwegian put his side back in front in the 44th minute, and City were comfortable as the game reached the dying embers. That was until Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano decided Nico Gonzalez had caught Eric Dier with his boot and pointed to the spot.

The former Tottenham Hotspur defender came back to haunt his former Premier League rivals and steal a point. Guardiola was perplexed by the penalty decision but his decision over one player may have been just as costly.

Monaco 2-2 Man City: We Need To Talk About Bernardo Silva

Guardiola has his favourites and one of those has long been Bernardo Silva, who will go down as one of the Premier League’s greatest playmakers. But the Portuguese midfielder has shown regression this season, and he was ineffective on the French Riviera tonight.

Silva won just one of five ground duels, found his man with one of three crossing attempts and was defensively shambolic, was dribbled past on three occasions. While the bright Jeremy Doku came off for Savinho, the haphazard 31-year-old remained on the pitch.

The usually composed Portuguese, whose ball-playing abilities have thrilled fans throughout his career, was caught in possession on 12 occasions. If ever there was a performance to signify the end is nigh, it was tonight’s display at the Stade Louis II.

A similar situation arose last season when Kevin De Bruyne no longer produced the consistency expected of him, and Guardiola realised this and started phasing him out of the starting lineup. This is how the Spaniard should handle Silva, whose contract is set to expire next summer.

Fans Bemused By Silva’s Showing

City warranted a victory away at Monaco but controversial penalty aside their fans are scratching their heads as to why Silva stayed on the pitch for the entire game. Watching Doku be substituted ahead of the Portuguese irked one supporter.

They wrote: “Pep will make us hate Bernardo Silva,you sub off Doku & keep Bernardo Silva”

Another fan gave a grim verdict: “Bernardo Silva has become so useless and it’s high time we start talking about it.”

One stated: “Bernardo Silva ducking out of a challenge there. Shocking.”

Silva’s performance raised question marks: “What even is Bernardo Silva doing now in this team ????I haven’t seen him doing one bit to score a goal!”

Another fan suggested his time is up: “Bernardo Silva needs to leave Man City next season.”

Silva is one of the longest-serving players at City, having joined the club ironically from Monaco in the summer of 2017 for £43m. He has been a member of a Cityzens side that became the first English club to win a continental treble and, for many, will warrant a statue outside the Etihad.

There were clear signs that a rebuild was required last season, and nights like tonight suggest Silva should be one of the older heads to bid farewell next summer. He has stayed with the Sky Blues despite links to Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain over the years.