Pep Guardiola hailed Bernardo Silva for his starring display in Manchester City's 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier league at the weekend.
In recent weeks, Silva has been in the headlines due to the uncertainty around his future at the Etihad Stadium.
With Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain understood to be chasing his signature, the 28-year-old has been keen on taking up a fresh challenge.
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However, it seemed all speculation about Silva's future at the Etihad Stadium was again put to the side as the Portugal international put in a terrific display on Saturday against Palace.
Silva was a menace throughout as he shone in particular when shifting to the right wing and linking up play in attack for the Premier League champions.
Constantly leaving defenders for dead and creating chances for fun, the former AS Monaco man was one of the few players that stepped up to the plate from minute one for the hosts, who were 2-0 down for large parts of the game.
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Silva kickstarted the hosts' comeback in the second half when his deflected effort from outside the box found the net to give the stadium a much-needed lift.
The four-time Premier League champion combined well with Julian Alvarez shortly after - providing a perfect cutback for John Stones, whose miscued effort fell kindly in front of Erling Haaland, who levelled proceedings from close range.
Haaland completed a sumptuous treble in just over 20 minutes to secure three points for Manchester City, who signed the Norwegian from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
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However, it was Silva who was singled out for praise by Pep Guardiola after the game, with the Catalan shining light on the playmaker's five-star showing from start to finish.
“Bernardo Silva, I never doubt. He is a huge competitor and has an incredible mentality. You have to be a winning player," Guardiola said.
Silva was not part of City's starting XI in the opening games of their title defence against West Ham and Bournemouth.
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Barcelona are believed to have held a long-standing interest in the Lisbon-born midfielder, who is under contract at City until 2025.
However, with City and Guardiola now making it clear that Silva will stay in Manchester this season, it doesn't seem the Benfica academy graduate is carrying much of a hangover from a failed move.
Silva provided a man-of-the-match performance on his return to the lineup against Newcastle last week, as City dropped their first points of the campaign in an enthralling 3-3 draw at St. James' Park.
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The Portuguese set up Ilkay Gundogan for the opener against the Magpies before scoring in the second half, again finding the net against Palace at a turning point in the tie.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, Barcelona, La Liga, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Football
Srinivas Sadhanand