Manchester City were open to selling Bernardo Silva in the summer, despite the fact manager Pep Guardiola insists he is one of the best players in the Premier League
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In pictures: Chelsea v Man City
Instead of a last tango in Paris on Tuesday night Bernardo Silva has rediscovered his mojo as Manchester City’s pocket Hercules.
Strange as it seems, City were open to selling the Portuguese playmaker in the summer. It’s a good job they had second thoughts.
As Chelsea’s unbeaten record was dismantled at Stamford Bridge, Silva was everywhere – and curbing his energy was like trying to catch a mosquito with chopsticks.
When City’s latest Champions League crusade is put to the test in the French capital, Paris Saint-Germain royalty Lionel Messi – who remains an injury doubt – will not be the only one calling the tune on the jukebox.
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City messiah Pep Guardiola appreciated Silva’s contribution at Chelsea even more because he was not playing in his favourite position.
Guardiola said: “He’s so intuitive – it’s not his role as a holding midfielder but he knows exactly how to play it and how to anticipate what is going to happen, with the ball or without the ball.
“All I want is for Bernardo to be happy, here or anywhere. All I want is his happiness because he’s a guy that deserves the best.
“Against Norwich he played exceptional, against Arsenal he played exceptional, Southampton he played at the level of the team – that was not good.
“But how well he played against Chelsea is no surprise. How many times have we seen it? He was an incredible signing for us because he’s an exceptional person.
“I never forget the second Premier League we won, with 98 points, he was the best player in England. He was nominated [for an award] but he was the best.
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“After that season, later he dropped a little bit, he was not in the position he prefers but now he’s back and hopefully he can help us.
“If, at the end, he wants to leave and decides [to go] the only thing I can say is that the guy or the club that gets Bernardo is going to take one of the best players in the world.
“Is he happier? You cannot play in this way if you are not happy, it’s impossible.”
While City head for the Eiffel Tower, Chelsea were a dreary shower.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel has only himself to blame for a damaging first defeat of the season which leaves the top four in a concertina separated by a single point.
Champions of Europe? You’re having a laugh – until they fell behind, Tuchel’s side were passive, timid and they didn’t manage a single shot on target.
Chelsea were effectively playing with nine men because Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were so detached from the rest they might as well have been on a desert island.
Gabriel Jesus, who scored City’s deserved winner, said the Blue Moon tendency were determined not to be scarred by consecutive defeats in their three previous encounters with Tuchel.
Jesus said: “We feel amazing because we came to play against a top opponent, they are the Champions League winners and have a lot of top players.
“People think because we lost the (FA Cup) semi-final, in the league and in the (Champions League) final, that we suffer because of that. But we came here with confidence and tried to play a good game. And that’s all.
“For us it’s massive cos come here play against one of best teams in Europe, show we can play good and create chances.”
