The coach of Manchester City, Pep Guardiolasaid Bernard Silva is the “perfect player” after the Portuguese midfielder’s brace helped his side secure a 5-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Tuesday.
Manchester City dominated from start to finish in the Portuguese capital and almost sealed their place in the quarter-finals, with the five-goal win, the joint largest margin of victory in a Champions League knockout game.
Silva scored his first Champions League brace and his first goals in the competition in almost a year in a classic display, a performance made all the sweeter given that he came through the academy at Sporting rivals Benfica.
“I always tell him ‘you are the perfect player,'” Guardiola said. “With the ball he is more than exceptional, but I always tell him that you have to go win games, you have to have the ability to do it. He has the technique, everything. This was his hometown and he loves coming back here. Of course he is a former Benfica player, so tonight was special for him.”
Looking to improve after losing in the final to Chelsea last season, and chasing the only major trophy that has eluded Guardiola since joining City in 2016, the Premier League champions set the scoreboard in Lisbon.
But despite leading his team to the biggest away win in their history on any day of the competition, the Catalan was not entirely satisfied with what he saw at the José Alvalade Stadium.
“We defended well and got an incredible result. But we also have a duty to look at the performance, even if the result is a dream. The performance could have been better. The difference between the two teams is not 0-5, but we were very clinical. “.
“If we go to the quarterfinals, who knows what will happen. Last season we had a perfect Champions League and then we lost the final. Then they see us as a failure. I will not hide behind a 5-0 win, there is still a long way to go” .
read also