As one of the senior figures in Manchester City’s dressing room, Bernardo Silva would have especially been disappointed after his side drew 2-2 against Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola’s men may have felt they had turned a corner after beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
However, Manchester City showed at Selhurst Park that this season, betting on them to be as consistent as they have been in the past would be unwise, as Rico Lewis’ late strike was not enough for them to seal a victory.
In their last nine games in all competitions, City have won just one game.
After the Merseyside Derby was postponed due to Storm Darragh and Arsenal scheduled to play against Fulham on Sunday, the Sky Blues could have piled the pressure on their Premier League title rivals.
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But as Erling Haaland told Manchester City supporters, their sights are now set on their trip to Turin to face Juventus in the Champions League.
Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace battles Bernardo Silva of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Manchester C...
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Bernardo Silva thanks Man City fans after Crystal Palace draw
It seems increasingly unlikely that the Premier League title will be heading to the blue side of Manchester at the end of the campaign.
City’s priority will be to gain a sense of consistency instead of focusing on the title race as a whole. Jamie Carragher’s prediction about Manchester City being in a top four fight seems likelier than ever.
A visibly disappointed Bernardo Silva sent a special message to Manchester City fans for their support during the side’s ongoing poor run of form after they dropped more points to Crystal Palace.
Bernardo's post match thoughts included a message for our fans 💭
Tap to watch the full interview 👇
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 7, 2024
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Bernardo told City’s in-house media: “Let me just thank our fans for sticking with us and for helping us in this tough moment because we know how difficult it is for them as well.”
The Portuguese international did not have his best game either, playing as an advanced role as a part of Manchester City’s midfield diamond.
BERNARDO STATS VS CRYSTAL PALACE
ASSISTS 1
DRIBBLES COMPLETED 0/1
POSSESSION LOST 19
GROUND DUELS WON 0/4
KEY PASSES 2
TOTAL TACKLES 0
via Sofascore
The six-time Premier League winner’s assist for Lewis’ strike was a lovely through ball but barring that, he was largely rather sloppy in possession while defensively, he could not impact proceedings whatsoever.
Bernardo admits Man City have ‘not been good enough’
Bernardo’s verdict on Manchester City’s draw was one typified by disappointment due to the standard him and his teammates have set over several years now.
The 30-year-old said: “With Man City, it’s always two points lost. One point is better than zero but we’re not happy at the moment.”
“We know our situation with injuries. Coming to Crystal Palace is never easy but we have to do better. When I finish a game and I get a point, I’m not happy. It’s not the way we built this team, it’s not our standard.”
Bernardo continued: “We know how tough it is to come here when we have all our squad and we’re in top form.
“We have to do better, we have to react better to the second balls. We have to give them less opportunities on set pieces. We created a few chances and that wasn’t our problem because we scored two. We’re in December. We’d like to be in a different position.
“If we recover our players quickly we can always do it. But right now, our concern is a different one. If we’re fourth or fifth, we have to look at winning the next game.”
“The last month and a half, we have not been good enough.”
Bernardo’s scathing yet honest assessment of Manchester City’s recent results will likely be met by nodding heads in Manchester City’s dressing room.
How Pep Guardiola and Co respond to their latest adversity is the question.
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