Numerous Manchester City players have been in action throughout the knockout stage of the 2024 European Championship.
On Monday, after Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku were knocked out of the tournament after Belgium lost 1-0 to France, City’s Portuguese players were in action against Slovenia to try and book their place in the quarter-finals.
After the game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes and extra time, Roberto Martinez’s side eventually got through on penalties.
During the match, one particular City star found himself being mentioned by a pundit for what he was doing for Portugal.
Pat Nevin declares Bernardo Silva was ‘quiet’ in latest Portugal game
Speaking BBC Radio 5 Live (via BBC Sport) during the second half of Portugal’s match against Slovenia, Nevin had this to say about Bernardo Silva and his performance.
He said: “It’s tough when you’re Roberto Martinez, who do you take off? No one has done badly. Bernardo Silva has been a bit quiet but he’s still a quality player.”
Silva wasn’t particularly impactful against Slovenia
Having appeared in 49 games across all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side last season, it’s clear that Silva, who Bukayo Saka recently claimed has the best ball control at Euro 2024, is a key figure for the Etihad Stadium outfit.
In last night’s game, Silva completed the full 120 minutes and then went on to score Portugal’s winning penalty after Diogo Costa saved all three of the spot-kicks he was faced with in the shootout.
Across those 120 minutes, the midfielder had 79 touches of the ball in total, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo (37) as the only other player in the Portuguese side who completed the full match with fewer touches.
Despite accurately completing 63 of the 65 passes he attempted, the City star only had one shot at goal, played just one key pass, misplaced the three crosses he made and failed to complete either of the two dribbles he went on.
This shows that the 29-year-old wasn’t particularly impactful in this latest match of the tournament despite being one of the figures who played through the entire 120 minutes.