Manchester Metropolis are confident that Bernardo Silva volition sign a contract extension to go along him at the guild for the foreseeable future.

And later on Pep Guardiola hailed the 27-year-erstwhile ace as "unique" following his 2-goal contribution to the Blues' 5-0 Champions League sabotage of Sporting Lisbon, the need to tie him upwardly is even greater.

Bernardo has get the living apotheosis of Guardiola'due south football essence - a gifted merely selfless thespian whose technical power and tactical nous are matched only by his incredible capacity for piece of work and his aggression when City exercise not have the ball.

Guardiola described the Portugal international as a one-off subsequently he responded to the jeers of the Sporting true-blue - mindful of his Benfica past - with a virtuoso display in a symphony of a performance from the team.

Asked whether there is anyone else like him on the planet, Guardiola said: "Only Bernardo. Bernardo is unique.

"First as a person, his mum and dad have to exist so proud because he's a lovely, lovely person.

"He'due south so generous whether he plays or doesn't play. He can play in six roles hands. He doesn't simply play football, he understands the game.

"There are players that play good with the brawl but he understands every action like few in the world. I hope he stays at Manchester Urban center for many, many years but he and the club will decide."

Like Guardiola, he is a perfectionist.

The director's beginning response to the win at the Jose Alvalade Stadium was to berate his players for sloppiness on the ball and beingness a picayune greedy at times.

Interestingly, Bernardo had said roughly the same thing to the Tv cameras moments before.

"A very skillful win," he said. "I think in the first half nosotros weren't that skilful to be winning 4-0, we were a chip sloppy, lost some easy assurance to let them counter.

"Sometimes you play amend than we did the beginning half and you go in 0-0. Yous tin can still improve and we can notwithstanding practise better."

It is no surprise that Bernardo himself seems to exist on an endless quest to get better - and one surface area where he can improve is in goalscoring terms.

He has 45 goals in 234 games since joining Metropolis in 2017, and last night'south caryatid took him to double figures for this season - only the second fourth dimension has reached that milestone, afterwards he netted 13 in 2018-19. He averages about nine goals a season, although that average should move into double figures - the norm for any good attacking midfielder - this flavor.

Given his spatial awareness, cleverness in and effectually the box, and the wand of a left pes that crashed in a stunning half-volley against Sporting, that effigy is surprisingly low.

Fellow midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has 52 goals in 200 games over the same menstruation, only Ilkay Gundogan - despite being the lodge's top scorer last flavour - has simply 40 in 221.

The goal tallies for all iii of City's midfield geniuses would be higher but for their selflessness - they all enjoy assists only every bit much as hitting the back of the net themselves.

The breakdown of Bernardo'south Premier League goals show that out of the 28 he has scored, 23 were from that left foot, three with his right and two from headers - he is uncannily productive with his caput for someone who stands 5ft 8ins, popping upwards at the far postal service regularly as he did for his disallowed "lid-trick" goal final night.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 03: Bernardo Silva of Manchester City and Jordan Henderson of Liverpool during the Premier League friction match between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at Etihad Stadium on Jan 3, 2019 in Manchester, Great britain. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Selfless running is a fundamental factor in Bernardo's uniqueness - his incredible endeavour confronting Liverpool in the of import 2-1 Etihad Stadium victory in 2019, when he topped the Premier League chart for distance covered in a game with an astonishing 13.7 kilometres, was indicative of what makes him special.

This was no headless chicken, chasing Liverpool shadows in a meaningless fury. He also showed the quality to exist named man of the lucifer by simply nearly everyone who saw the game - brilliant in possession, manic without the ball.

And while you might expect a clash with principal title rivals in a close race might forcefulness an extra kilometre or two out of leaden legs, Bernardo does that kind of thing regularly.

In fact, that 13.vii kms figure broke his ain tape for the 2018-18 season, which he had set with 13.65kms against Spurs three months earlier.

The following flavor, with City not faring then well in the title race, he over again broke the 13kms bulwark as City came from behind to beat Leicester 3-1, four days before Christmas.

Those figures accept calmed down considerably following Guardiola'south change of tack last flavour, when he figured that the unique circumstances of a Covid lockdown season, congesting the fixture schedule and putting actress strains on squad availability and fitness, required a change of tempo.

Ball retentiveness became City'due south primary aim, and some of their more adventurous football was reined in for the sake of control.

Having more possession ways having to run less, but Bernardo still puts in a stint when he needs to, when the opposition take the brawl.

Guardiola's clarification of Bernardo is unique is non throw-away praise. Information technology is hard to think of another player who possesses the same quality but who also works as hard and rejects ego in favour of the team ethic.

His City and Portugal teammate Ruben Dias summed it up: "You accept many players with a lot of quality at his level, but y'all don't accept many that are able to make the sacrifices he makes.

"That is who Bernardo Silva is. A guy who is equally talented as the others, simply willing to make sacrifices that non many others are willing to.

"That is a good affair to reverberate on, particularly for the youngsters, because that is the kind of thespian and personality y'all should be aiming for. For the team, that is the best thing yous can have."