Guardiola praises star who stayed strong as Man City endured winless horror run

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Bernardo Silva after he starred in their crucial last minute win over Aston Villa last night.

The Portuguese midfielder opened the scoring at the Etihad after just seven minutes, finishing from an Omar Marmoush cutback which deflected off Ezri Konsa.

Marcus Rashford cancelled out his strike before a stoppage time winner from Matheus Nunes sealed all three points for the hosts.

The win leaves City in third place, four points above sixth placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification.

Following the win, Guardiola heaped praise on Silva, claiming the 30-year-old was 'always there' despite being 'mentally empty' during City's nightmare mid-season run which saw them lose six Premier League games out of eight, including four in a row.    'Bernardo, what he has done for us this season… I don't forget! I don't forget November, December, January, February, March when we didn't win one single game, and he was there every single time,' Guardiola said.

'Running 30 kilometres every way, playing different positions, running, and there was a moment that he was empty, mentally.

'And after that not winning games, he was tired, he was empty.

'But Bernardo, in the important games, has an incredibly huge personality'.

'He's a player for me that is on another level.

Silva has scored three goals and registed four assists in 29 league apperances this season.

His eight-year stint in Manchester has seen him make 398 appearances and collect six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and the Champions League.

However, there are rumours that he could return to boyhood side Benfica.

He spent over a decade at the Benfica academy but only feature three times for the first team because of a dispute with head coach at the time, Jorge Jesus.

Silva's £300,000-a-week contract at City expires at the end of next season, but it is believed that he is willing to take a pay cut to return to Portugal.

Although Benfica are reportedly unwilling to pay his £42.6million release clause, they have contacted his representatives over a return this summer.

Silva could be the latest Manchester City departure as the club looks to rebuild their squad, with Kevin De Bruyne announcing earlier this month he will leave in the summer.

After yesterday's win, Guardiola added: 'We didn't create much, but it's not easy against Aston Villa. They have low block five or six at the back.

'It's not easy. It's a question of being patient and today Kovacic and Bernardo helped us read that.'