Pep Guardiola has revealed that Manchester City have one player in particular who is extremely calm under pressure.
For Pep Guardiola’s City side to have won as much silverware as they have over the years, they must have several players who embrace the high-pressure circumstances.
This very quality is what may have separated Manchester City from the rest in the past few years.
However, even the best players in the world can feel pressure.
When world-class players set the highest standards, they are expected to reach a certain bar season after season.
That must come with a lot of nerves, even for the greats of the game that Guardiola has at his disposal.
But after Manchester City annihilated Fulham in their 4-0 win, Pep Guardiola praised Bernardo Silva for how composed he has always been.
“You’re asking me something that is more common to answer about him for many years. So, what a player. What can I say?”, he initially said in his press conference [via HaytersTV].
The £378,846-a-week man continued: “We brought up the example of pressure, this is the guy. I remember one year in Madrid, at half-time, we were 1-0, 0-0, 1-0 down, I don’t remember. He was laughing, he was calm, they enjoy to play big tournaments, big important games and always make a step up.”
After praising how Bernardo Silva thrives under pressure, Pep Guardiola stressed that this quality applies to several of his big-hitters at Manchester City.
“We have many of them, otherwise you cannot do what we have done in the past, it’s impossible, the way we’re playing for many years, winning a lot of titles with personalities, big, big personalities in the team, it’s impossible.”
Guardiola concluded: “It’s not tactics, it’s not ideas, it’s the players feel important and perform well, this is what it’s about.”
Ruben Dias has also previously praised the former AS Monaco technician for how reliable he is when it is crunch time for Manchester City.
Tough to disagree with Pep Guardiola about Bernardo Silva
In our view, it is not a surprise that Pep Guardiola has made such a revelation about Bernardo Silva.
Season after season, the 29-year-old has stepped up against the biggest and best teams and during the business end of the campaign.
For instance, against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season and in an important game in the title race against Fulham, he popped up with an assist for Josko Gvardiol.
Often, Pep Guardiola also gives Bernardo Silva the challenge of playing in a different role against difficult teams but the former seems to embrace such challenges.
In Manchester City’s 3-1 win against Arsenal last season, the Portuguese international was famously deployed as a left-back and yet, he did not wilt under the pressure.
Bernardo Silva seems to have a leader’s mindset, despite seeming quite understated, which makes him invaluable to this City juggernaut.
