Bernardo giving Pep yet another option in midfield
WHEN Frank Lampard was preparing to face City, he couldn’t have predicted how Pep Guardiola would line up his side at Stamford Bridge.
The club didn’t reveal the identities of the players who were isolating due to Covid until the team sheets were handed out.
It meant Lampard was left guessing over what Blues side would turn up in West London.
Even when City’s starting line-up was announced, he surely would not have guessed the system the visitors used to such ruthless effect.
Everyone assumed Raheem Sterling would play centrally in the absence of Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres, with Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva on the wings, and a midfield of Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan supporting the attack.
Instead, De Bruyne ran riot as a false nine, with Sterling on the right, Foden on the left, and Gundogan in attacking midfield. That left Bernardo to drop deeper than usual and provide the running in midfield and effectively sit alongside Rodri, allowing his colleagues to cause havoc in the Chelsea defence in a ruthless first half.
It’s only the fourth time this season Bernardo has played the more conservative central midfield role, with most of his 17 appearances coming out wide or in attacking midfield. De Bruyne or Gundogan are the more natural options to sit deeper in midfield - and both have shown their quality there this season - but now Guardiola knows he can call upon Bernardo for that role as well.
While De Bruyne showed he can play as a false nine just as effectively as his natural position, and Gundogan has earned comparisons with Zinedine Zidane for his all-action role at Stamford Bridge, Bernardo’s role has largely gone under the radar.
Yet De Bruyne and Gundogan wouldn’t have been able to express themselves offensively in the manner they did had Bernardo not been doing the dirty work behind them from the first minute.
The Portuguese ended the game with the second most passes in the City team, and the second best pass accuracy from the players who started. His 92.7 per cent accuracy from 68 passes was bettered only by Foden, who recorded 95.2 accuracy but only from 21 passes. Rodri naturally attempted most passes with 91, and his accuracy was slightly below Bernardo.
In terms of all-round performance, Bernardo made four tackles (only Rodri made more), one interception, as well as two key passes to help the attack.
At one point, Bernardo dropped back as an auxilliary centre-back when John Stones had followed possession out to the right wing and Joao Cancelo moved over to support him. It was a similar passage of play to Rodri’s tendency to collect the ball off his central defenders and carry it forward, with Bernardo spotting the gap at the back, dropping in to take the pass, move possession away from the right and allow the back four to get back to their proper roles.
Bernardo was key to the period of at least five minutes where City were toying with Chelsea in the second half, just knocking the ball around and reducing the hosts to an occasional interception before Bernardo or one of his team-mates immediately crowded their opponent to win the ball back.
With Bernardo showing he can play as a central midfielder with a more defensive brief, he has completed his work experience across all forward positions.
As well as his natural attacking midfield and wing positions, Guardiola has now played him as a false nine to great effect and finally in his role at Stamford Bridge.
Suspension ruled him out of last night’s Carabao Cup semi-final, but when City return to the Premier League, Bernardo’s versatility can be vital in catching United and Liverpool at the top of the table - and at the very least Guardiola has a new option to keep opposition managers guessing right up to kick off.