Man City and Bernardo Silva put Arsenal, Liverpool on high alert

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City head into the ultimate straight of the Premier League title run-in after the worldwide break, and the benefit of their FA Cup quarterfinal win over Newcastle United ought to be sufficient to fret each Arsenal and Liverpool.

City received 2-0 on the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to ebook a file sixth straight FA Cup semifinal and heat up for Arsenal’s go to on March 31 in the very best method. Again, Pep Guardiola’s crew are turning up the tempo of their trophy cost on the proper time. It’s now 22 video games with out defeat in all competitions and, actually, Newcastle by no means got here near turning into the primary visiting crew to win on the Etihad since November 2022.

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Two targets from Bernardo Silva earlier than half-time — each deflected however nonetheless deserved — made for a cushty night, and it was the type of calm, composed efficiency which may make Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp wince on the considered the battle forward.

Newcastle are coping with accidents to key gamers corresponding to Kieran Trippier, however a crew taking part in within the Champions League earlier than Christmas had been nonetheless expertly brushed apart as in the event that they had been a lower-league aspect simply glad to be right here.

“Always we expect the best for the team,” Guardiola mentioned. “We won the treble, five titles and coming back from the last international break, in the last one or two months, to be in contention means a lot.

“This membership has one thing particular. It’s unbelievable. I do know we play to win the finals, however to win it, it’s important to win the sooner rounds. We received 4 Carabao Cup finals in a row and now we’re in six FA Cup semifinals in a row. To run and play the best way they did is unbelievable. Congratulations to the crew, nobody has executed that earlier than.

“We performed rather well, we had been so secure with the ball. Mateo [Kovacic], Rodri and Bernardo stored the ball so effectively. The sport was actually good,” Guardiola added.

It’s onerous to overestimate the relentlessness of this City crew. Against Liverpool at Anfield, it was John Stones who popped up with a significant aim. Every week earlier in opposition to Manchester United, it was Phil Foden who ran the sport, scoring twice.

This time it was Bernardo, with out a aim for greater than a month coming into the sport, who made the distinction. His two first-half targets took such large deflections that he regarded slightly sheepish in the course of the celebrations, however the Portuguese midfielder was being congratulated for repeatedly discovering pockets of house on the proper fringe of the penalty space greater than the finishes.

City have coped admirably with the departures of David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gündogan over time, however Guardiola could discover Bernardo the toughest of all of them to switch. With an accessible launch clause of round £50m added into the contract extension he signed final summer time, City expect agency curiosity from Paris Saint-Germain forward of subsequent season however whereas he is right here, Silva will stay the participant Guardiola trusts over anybody else within the large video games.

It says every part about Silva’s class in opposition to Newcastle that Kevin De Bruyne, nursing a groin damage, was barely missed. “Everybody loves him and we want him, even if the goals are deflections,” mentioned Guardiola.

“It’s important he stays with us. Kevin will be back soon but when you see the schedule — Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Real Madrid — it’s really tough and we need everyone. I’ve said many times how important Bernardo is.”

Afterwards, Newcastle supervisor Eddie Howe was left to bemoan the “football gods working against us” in reference to Silva’s two lucky targets, however that ignored the truth that Newcastle had been restricted to simply two photographs over the 90 minutes and just one on goal. Looking for a primary trophy since 1955, Howe, who tried one thing completely different by shifting his system to 5 on the again, admitted his crew “had not been good enough.”

“The goals are difficult to take, especially the first, which was a big deflection and flies into the top corner,” he added.

“I don’t know what to say. The lads gave everything. It’s very difficult to play Man City at any time but especially when they pick those technical players. I thought we did OK, stuck at it and we did unsettle them at times.”

In actuality, although, it was one other sport that showcased City’s means to squeeze the life out of their opponents, and the concern for Liverpool and Arsenal is that City will be capable of squeeze the life out of the title race after the worldwide break.

Guardiola faces a nervous wait to see what number of of his gamers return from their nationwide groups unscathed forward of Arsenal’s go to to the Etihad when the Premier League returns, and it could be that it takes an surprising damage to derail what appears, on the face of it, like a cost in the direction of one other treble.