Manchester City lost 1-0 to Aston Villa on Sunday, but Bernardo Silva was unimpressed with his team’s performance, especially their defense and pressing.
Bernardo Silva has slammed Manchester City’s defense against Aston Villa, claiming they were “two seconds slow” to every challenge. Matty Cash’s 19th-minute goal handed City a 1-0 defeat at Villa Park, ending their nine-match unbeaten run.
Club captain Silva was not particularly impressed with what he witnessed, especially regarding the defensive work and pressing game. He also believed that the Blues’ failure to prove their authority in this match resulted in their second-best performance in the physical battle.
Following Cash’s opener, Erling Haaland fired twice to trouble Emiliano Martinez, but it never looked like City would be able to equalize.
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“I think we played very well with the ball. Our attacking concept was very good. Even if we didn’t score, we had chances,” Silva said.
“We let them play deep defense, but they struggled in some situations. Our defense was really bad on the other side of the game. Our pressing was really bad, arriving two seconds late in every duel.”
“It felt like that even though our offensive concept was very good. But if we don’t press well, the game becomes a transition game. If we don’t press well, we don’t play well.
“It’s clear that they are a very good team. This is a Champions League team, a team with a lot of quality players. I think the defensive concept today was really bad.”
City were furious at the referee’s decision to award the corner kick that Villa scored. They believed that Matheus Nunez should have been awarded a free kick for a challenge from Lucas Digne after he sent the ball out of bounds.
“It’s a small decision. It’s not like a penalty or a red card that changes the game. In reality, it should have been a foul,” Silva said.
“Instead, they scored from a corner kick. It was a little frustrating for us, but that’s football. Little things like that don’t matter that much. The referee said he thought it was a corner kick.”
“People make mistakes. Just say sorry and move on to the next mistake. Don’t be arrogant. Like I said, that’s not why we lost the game. It’s not about the referee today.”
“We still have a long way to go. I don’t want to draw too many conclusions. We want to be at the top, but we’re not there. It’s too early to draw conclusions.”
Arsenal inflicted further injury on City as the Gunners won 1-0 against Crystal Palace. Mikel Arteta’s side are top of the table with 22 points after nine games, while Josep Guardiola’s side sit fifth in the table with 16 points.
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