IT’S SILVA SERVICE
Pep hails Spanish wizard after Palace rout
DAVID SILVA started the season with a point to prove.
He will finish it being recognised by Pep Guardiola as Manchester City’s most important player.
Silva was sublime. He scored City’s opener – his 50th goal for the club – and had a hand in the moves that saw Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne join him on the scoresheet.
Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Otamendi were also on target as City moved above Liverpool and into third place on goal difference.
But it was the man they call Merlin who had the Etihad fans purring. Silva walked off to a deafening ovation when he was substituted – and he deserved every decibel.
“The great thing about Silva is that he does not lose the ball, even in tight areas,” said Guardiola. “All the top teams have a player like him. He has been at a great level this season but I think he has only won the player of the month once.
“Next season I hope we can help him to win more awards, because he deserves it. He even scored a goal today – and I hope he enjoys it.”
Guardiola tried to sign Silva for Barcelona seven years ago but the City boss went into his first season in Manchester unsure whether the Spaniard could mix graft with craft as his 31st birthday approached.
The Catalan has told the people who run the club that now he has no doubts. When City lost to Arsenal in last month’s FA Cup semi-final, Guardiola privately blamed it on a referee who allowed the Gunners to kick his midfielder off the Wembley turf.
The injury Silva picked up that day meant he missed City’s next two matches – both draws – but he was back with a bang yesterday as the Blues ran riot.
Sam Allardyce, with Mamadou Sakho, Scott Dann and James Tomkins all missing, employed a back three in a bid to avoid a third successive defeat. His plan was in tatters inside two minutes.
Silva started and finished the move that put City ahead, finding the bottom corner with a textbook volley.
Guardiola said: “In only one game this season have the opponents created more chances than us – against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
“We are better than all the other teams in the Premier League at creating chances, but we have not been able to score goals. Today it was different.” Palace, still in danger of being sucked back towards the drop zone, had their moments and only a stunning save from Willy Caballero kept out Christian Benteke’s header.
But City were a class apart – and when they scored again three minutes after the break it was game over.
Silva returned De Bruyne’s half-cleared corner to the Belgian and when he crossed low, Kompany swept the ball past Wayne Hennessey from 15 yards.
De Bruyne then skimmed the bar with a dipping freekick – the ninth time this season the Belgian has struck the woodwork.
But he was bang on target on the hour when Silva’s header and Gabriel Jesus’ pass invited him to guide a low shot into the corner. Sterling joined in the rout in the 82nd minute after Pablo Zabaleta nodded down Yaya Toure’s raking pass.
Otamendi completed the scoring in added time when he met De Bruyne’s free-kick with an unstoppable header.
Allardyce said: “It was a bit of a capitulation in the end. City didn’t even need to produce the skills that they normally do and yet we’ve still been thrashed.
“That was unacceptable, the players have to take responsibility and bounce back.
“We’ve got a big game against Hull next week and we’ve got to win. I don’t want to rely on other people.”
The great thing about Silva is that he doesn’t lose the ball
PEP GUARDIOLA