Bernardo Silva has had no shortage of spats with Liverpool before, but the Manchester City player now seems to have changed his tune about the Reds, with his recent comments sure to elicit a wry smile from Kopites.
The £300,000-per-week Portugal international (Capology) played against Jurgen Klopp’s side on Saturday, with the two teams sharing the spoils at the Etihad Stadium.
Reflecting on the match afterwards, the 29-year-old said (via 90min): “I think we should have won. But when you play a team like Liverpool, this season they are back being very competitive again.
“We expected it after a tough [2022/23] season for them. We knew their energy was going to be back so it’s going to be tough, not just with them but Arsenal, Spurs. But we are also ready to fight.
“We enjoy it more when we win but it’s nice for the Premier League and fans when it’s this tight and there is emotion.”
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Silva has experience of Liverpool twice going toe-to-toe with Man City during his time with Pep Guardiola’s side, so while he’s certainly felt the rivalry which has evolved between the two clubs over the past decade, he also seems to have plenty of respect for the Reds.
The contrast between our current position and where we were at the same juncture last season is striking – from languishing in eighth place on 19 points (15 behind leaders Arsenal and 13 adrift of City) after 13 games in 2022/23, we’re now third and, along with the Manchester side, within two points of the table-topping Gunners.
Saturday’s game against the reigning champions was always going to be a strong acid test of where Klopp’s side are at in terms of title contention, and while the home side may’ve had twice as many shots overall, LFC were good value for the draw they ultimately earned.
If we can go one better and defeat City at Anfield in March, whilst still being within arm’s reach of the Premier League summit, that’d be a sure sign of the Reds being potential champions next spring.