Manchester City is filled with players worthy of the spotlight. A few, nonetheless, manage to evade it on most occasions. Recently, manager Pep Guardiola brought to the forefront one of his players, Bernardo Silva, drawing parallels to Ballon d’Or winner and former disciple, Lionel Messi.

In a match with a flurry of goals from unlikely members of the team and Erling Haaland’s injury scare, the City midfielder’s integral role in the win was appreciated by his gaffer. And more importantly for the club, it is back to winning ways and is doing so in style.

Guardiola compares Bernardo Silva to Lionel Messi

Yesterday, Manchester City dismantled Bournemouth, in a one-sided contest. After scoring 3 goals just in the first half, the Sky Blues put the game to bed quickly. Jeremy Doku was their best player, scoring once and assisting an impressive four times in the 6-1 win. But it was Bernardo Silva who got the biggest compliment from his manager.

Silva scored a sophisticated brace and was praised by Pep Guardiola for his second goal, “The goal reminded me of [Lionel] Messi – I saw many times Leo in that position and did this chip-in. He’s an extraordinary player…”

The Portuguese’s second goal came after a ball from Jeremy Doku from the left, and Silva’s scrumptious finish with his right foot. Messi, who recently won the Ballon d’Or after winning the World Cup, is known for such goals. The 83rd-minute stunner from Silva reminded Pep of the Argentinian’s dribbling and wrong-foot finishing prowess. However, the game was all roses for Manchester City, with a major concern now looming over them.

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Erling Haaland’s absence concerns City fans

Before the final whistle, one would assume Erling Haaland would likely be on the list of scorers. The Norwegian, however, failed to find the back of the net and was largely absent in the second half. Guardiola, after substituting him, revealed that the striker suffered a twisted ankle.

After the match, Guardiola also announced that they would observe Haaland for a few more days to be sure of his condition and the seriousness of the injury. The former Barcelona manager expressed that the issue would likely not be as big and the 22-year-old is expected to recover soon.

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On the other hand, his substitute, Phil Foden, scored in the 64th minute thanks to a Jeremy Doku assist. Goals from Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake took the list of names on the score sheet to five, in what was, a classic City thumping.