Erling Haaland was Manchester City’s hat-trick hero – but boss Pep Guardiola hailed a different match-winner.
Bernardo Silva’s future has been uncertain all summer, with Barcelona courting him and the midfielder considering a move away from the Premier League after five years at City.
But City refused to let Bernardo go, and he showed against Crystal Palace why Guardiola was so determined to keep him, dragging his side from two goals down to victory.
While Haaland provided the finishing touches with his treble to ultimately seal the win, it was the irrepressible Bernardo who took charge of the game and opened up City’s opponents.
The 28-year-old was the catalyst for City’s comeback, scoring their first and imbuing Guardiola’s side with the belief that a fourth comeback from 2-0 down in six games was possible.
No wonder the City boss chose to gush over Bernardo’s match-winning display and underline the enduring value of the diminutive playmaker, who is small in stature but huge in influence.
“I’m happy that Bernardo became a winning player,” said Guardiola. “Of course, the highlights will be about Erling. But we cannot forget what Bernardo has done, scoring the goal and creating down the right side in the second-half.
“We have incredible weapons with him – the second goal came from him too. What amazes me about Bernardo is that when the game is going wrong he makes a step forward, he loves to play in this situation.
“He’s comfortable with it. Some players maybe step backwards, but he makes a step forward – that’s why he’s irreplaceable in many ways for us.
“He’s so important for us, can play in four or five positions. It’s not just on the pitch, it’s off it too, in the locker room. I want him here so much and I was clear the other day – he is staying.”
It was typical of Bernardo’s modest character that he declined to speak about his contribution post-match, leaving his boss to eulogise about his performance.
Guardiola also reserved special praise for Haaland, whose hat-trick took his tally to six Premier League goals from four games since his £51million move from Borussia Dortmund.
“What’s important is he’s a lovely guy, down to earth,” said Guardiola. “He could have come and – I don’t know – but it’s completely the opposite, we are completely in love with him.
“It’s not just the goals, it’s how happy he is. I see his behaviour and his body language. You pay attention to the body language of the players and always he’s is in the right position. He’s always there, encouraging the players, making an incredible effort. He knows it’s coming. He has an incredible sense of that.”
City midfielder Rodri was equally effusive about Haaland, but said he needs time to fully adapt to Guardiola’s style and maximise his huge potential.
“He needs just three touches to score a goal, he’s an incredible player” said Rodri. “It’s tough in that position, because we’re used to playing with a false nine that moves a lot and now we have him as a reference point, who doesn’t move too much.
“Of course, his natural talent makes the difference, but he needs to do better at being involved in the game – when to come, when to drop, when to go into space. It’s normal, we’ve just been together for just one month and we hope in the rest of the season he’ll improve.”
