Pep Guardiola, especially in his time as Manchester City manager, has never been one to follow the standard rules of soccer. While sometimes criticized as an overthinker, tinkering too much with his teams, what usually results from this attention to detail is a squad capable of handling any opponent. The word squad is used intentionally here, as he has carefully cultivated a group of players that is well versed in his style of play, with any selection of players on a given matchday able to execute his ideas to perfection. Going into his seventh season at Manchester City, one could be excused for thinking that other teams are coming wise to his playing styles, slowly starting to figure out how to best his teams on a regular basis. But they would be wrong. One only has to watch Manchester City’s game against Aston Villa on February 12, 2023 to see that Pep Guardiola is still full of surprises.
Bernardo Silva has been mainly utilized as an attacking player throughout his career, able to line up out wide or through the center. A Portuguese international, Silva is well known for his work rate and technical ability. Having joined Manchester City in the summer of 2017, he has played an integral part of Manchester City’s ongoing success, so far winning four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, and an FA Cup, as well as making it to the final of the Champions League in 2021.
Having initially signed for the club as an attacking midfielder that can play both centrally and wide, he has developed over the years into the ultimate utility player for Guardiola’s side. In the past couple of seasons, he has dropped deeper into the midfield at times, using his high work rate and stamina to not only show his attacking flair, but also act as a major player in front of the defense. However, his transformation has taken another major step when he lined up in City’s defense against Aston Villa.
When the game started, City appeared to only have three defenders in Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, and Aymeric Laporte, with Silva lined up in the midfield. While lining up with only three defenders in a Premier League match can seem quite bold, possibly bordering on overconfidence, not much more thought was likely given to the players’ positioning before kick-off. It was quickly made obvious, though, that this was going to be another Guardiola display of genius.
Aston Villa has generally played with a high press this season since the hire of new manager Unai Emery, trying to put pressure on opposing side’s defensive players. In most teams, the defensive players are not always the best with the ball at their feet. Most defenders are very adept at the physical side of soccer, winning the ball back from the opposing side and then quickly giving the ball to a more technical player further up the field. While Manchester City’s defensive players are more skilled than the average, they can still be vulnerable to losing the ball when pressured by the opposition.
A popular new tactic this season in the Premier League has been to invert wide defenders into the midfield when their team is in position. By providing an extra player in the central areas, this can serve two purposes. For one, it simply provides one more passing option in the midfield to help retain possession. Additionally, it can pull an opponent’s attacking player back into the midfield to cope with the added numbers in midfield, so even when the opposition gains possession and tries to counter, they are now down a player in attack. This was first seen with Pep’s CIty team (how shocking), and quickly picked up by Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, with Oleksandr Zinchenko having the skill to move the ball quickly in the opponent’s half and act as an outlet whenever an attack needs to be reset. Luke Shaw, of Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United, has also used this tactic to great success this season.
Guardiola has now flipped the script even further by using a midfielder in defense instead of a defender pushing forward. And there are very few players in world soccer who could have pulled his tactical plan off, which is why Bernardo Silva is such an enjoyable player to watch. Having started this game in the midfield, Silva would drop into the left back or left center back position when City was defending to create a back four, and then back to midfield when they regained possession, with Kyle Walker tucking more central to create a back three. And he made this transition seamlessly. His physical stamina and tactical prowess were both on display. Had you never watched him play before, you would never have known this was his first attempt at left back. At 107 touches in the game, he was second only to Rodri (City’s other deep midfielder in that game), which tells you exactly how much influence he was able to exert on the game, even when playing half of it as a defender. When asked to explain his selection, Guardiola said, “…many times in the previous seasons, we played with a false nine and had an extra player in the middle. Now the extra player is in the box, so we have to adjust something.”
The easiest time to see the true positioning of Silva while in attack is when Manchester CIty goalkeeper Ederson had the ball. Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte would each push wide of the box, with Kyle Walker stepping up the right touchline. Jack Grealish would drop in to mirror Walker on the left side, leaving Rodri and Silva as the two midfield options. In contrast, when Emi Martinez, the opposing goalkeeper, had the ball, you would see Bernardo Silva drop either into the left back position to create a flat back four defense, or you would see him track the Aston Villa attackers into the center of defense.
Silva showed today that he is the ultimate utility player and there’s nothing yet he hasn’t been able to do, and do well. He seems to have an understanding of every aspect of the game, which is a virtue every top player possesses. And Guardiola has shown once again that what he does best is take very good players and make them world class by giving them the opportunity to showcase their talents in beautifully coached teams.