Man City Opinion: David Silva was the most influential figure for the Citizens in the derby triumph
Man City climbed back to the top of the Premier League standings with a 2-0 victory over rivals Man United at Old Trafford, courtesy of second-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane.
The Citizens have outperformed their bitter rivals in all competitions this season and it was Man United’s last chance in the current campaign to get the better of their noisy neighbours. However, it was City who had the last laugh and took a giant step in the title race with a dominant display in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
City struggled to cope with United’s disciplined and measured approach in the opening stages of the game, as the Red Devils played a back-five system to nullify their opposition’s wide threat. Pep Guardiola’s side found it difficult to work the channels and break United’s lines in the midfield, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Fred and Andreas Pereira all doing a fine job to deny City any kind of space to work with.
United, on the other hand, were apparently prepared to absorb the pressure and hit City on the counter-attack, as the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard created a few problems for the City backline with their pace and movement.
Man City, though, settled into the game gradually and enjoyed a lion share of possession, as the likes of Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Sergio Aguero started to string together some slick moves. However, it was the Spanish veteran David Silva, who was the most influential figure in City’s attack, as the 33-year-old once again proved his worth as a big-game player for Pep Guardiola.
While Bernardo had a relatively quiet first-half, David Silva and Aguero- the old race-horses of derby clashes, kept things ticking for the Citizens in the final third. The duo exchanged some clever passes between them to tee up Bernardo for a shot from outside the box, which was City’s first real chance of the game.
Silva and Aguero were once again involved in some brilliant one-touch football, as Sterling had an opportunity to open the scoring, but he failed to get a strong enough effort away on goal from close range.
There was nothing to separate between the two teams in the first half and it was up to City to take the game by the scruff of the neck after the restart. They did exactly so and Bernardo Silva broke the deadlock with a clever finish to beat David de Gea at his near post in the 54th minute.
With City leading 1-0, Silva once again came to the fore and played a pivotal role in City’s most eye-catching move of the game. The 33-year-old set the cat amongst the pigeons at the back for United following a slick exchange of passes with Zinchenko, Sane and Aguero, though it was Aguero who hit the outside of the crossbar with his powerful effort on goal.
Jesse Lingard spurned a glorious chance at the other end, as City put the game to bed soon after with a brisk counter-attack. Sterling ripped apart United’s defence with his pace to set up substitute Leroy Sane, who beat de Gea with a rather ordinary goal-bound shot to make it 2-0 6 minutes after the hour mark.
Silva didn’t get his name amongst the scorers or the assist-providers but his presence was instrumental to Man City’s success in the high-octane derby clash.
The Spaniard played a total of 79 passes at an accuracy rate of 88.5, including 4 key passes, 2 successful long balls and 1 cross. He won 3 out of 8 duels on the pitch and did a wonderful job defensively as well, chipping in with 2 tackles and 1 interception.
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Arguably City’s most creative player on the day, Silva not only showed once again that he is capable of covering every blade of grass on the pitch but he also reminded the fans that he is an indispensable component of Pep Guardiola’s side when it comes to derby clashes.
