Man City fans send clear transfer message to Bernardo Silva he can't ignore

Fans send clear message to Bernardo

Often, when a player openly admits they want to leave a club, the fans will quickly turn on them. Not in the case of Bernardo Silva and Manchester City fans, in the week where Bernardo admitted he doesn't know if he will leave the Etihad for Barcelona. Pep Guardiola doesn't know either and benched Bernardo for the second game in a row.

However, when Bernardo was introduced in the second half, the Etihad rose to sing his chant on repeat, and the biggest roar of the afternoon (barring goals) was to welcome Bernardo onto the pitch, with every touch cheered. At full-time, Bernardo clapped all four stands, gave his shirt to a fan, and was the last player off the pitch to more warm applause. Guardiola doesn't want him to leave, and it's abundantly clear the fans are desperate for him to stay, too.

Haaland responds to Guardiola instruction

On Friday, Pep Guardiola told Erling Haaland that he doesn't want his strikers to simply wait in the box to score goals, and that they should be playing an active part in City's build-up. It was an instruction buried in a longer answer over how Haaland could improve, and it seems the striker was listening closely.

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On 17 minutes, Haaland dropped deep to collect the ball from Ilkay Gundogan, held off two challenges, turned, and returned the ball to Gundogan as he was dragged to the ground to register a first assist for City. For the Blues' second, he put enough pressure on two defenders to win back possession, and he was generally far more involved in the dirty work than in his first two appearances. It was exactly what Guardiola asked for just a day earlier.

De Bruyne still the