Bernardo Silva breaks down genius tactic that helped Man City destroy bitter rivals Man Utd in Manchester derby
BERNANDO SILVA has delved into the clever tactics which saw Manchester City thrash Manchester United on Sunday.
The Portuguese midfielder was awarded Man of the Match as City cruised to a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford.
Erling Haaland scored a brace before playing in Phil Foden to wrap up the tie.
Yet City’s dominance was far greater than the scoreline suggested and at the heart of it was Silva.
He told Sky Sports: “Knowing their full-backs were going to be tight with Jack Grealish and Phil Foden.
“It meant me and Julian Alvarez tried to give them the option of the pass in the pocket between full-back and centre-back.
“Slow build-up, attracting the opponent and then when we find the space in behind their midfielders, we attack quick.
“It really worked. The momentum that we created and the timings of the build-ups and attacking in the final third worked brilliantly.
“Our defenders were really close to their attackers, and we didn’t let them break through.
“We know they want us to lose our simple balls and to counterattack.”
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With United going man-for-man in the middle of the pitch to block central passing lanes, the Portugal midfielder utilised the space wide.
Meanwhile, Silva was also one of five City players to place in the top 10 of this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings.
City boss Pep Guardiola hailed him as “irreplaceable”.
The Spanard declared: “We were scared to lose him. Every time he comes here at Old Trafford, he plays really well.”
It would have been worse was it not for Andre Onana’s saves on a day when United fans booed Ten Hag’s decision to replace Hojlund.
While Old Trafford legend Gary Neville described Sunday’s second-half showing as “appalling”.