London (Agencies)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his side are now “in trouble” after Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva joined the club’s lengthy injury list.
Silva, who signed a one-year extension last month which will keep him at City until 2026, was forced off before half-time of City’s 3-1 home win over Red Star Belgrade in their Champions League opener on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium.
City are already without key players Kevin de Bruyne, John Stones, Jack Grealish, and Mateo Kovacic due to injury. “He (Silva) didn’t say anything at the end,” Guardiola said. “I didn’t speak with the doctors, but apparently, for the next games, he won’t be able to play.” Silva did not return to the tunnel after substitution but sat in the team dugout.
Premier League leaders City next host Nottingham Forest on Saturday, looking to make it six wins from six, but Guardiola is worried about the impact of having so many key players absent at the same time.
“We are in trouble but I am not going to say, ‘Oh, we have a lot of injuries’,” he said. “When we have five important players – really, really important players – injured, to sustain that for a long time will be difficult. But it is what it is.
“We cannot have the salaries and budgets for transfers to have 55 players. It would be chaos for the clubs and they would be bankrupt. Sometimes it happens.”
Guardiola felt his team were given a useful test in the comeback victory in their Group G clash. The holders were stunned when the Serbian champions claimed a shock lead on the stroke of half-time through Osman Bukari.
Yet as they did in the Premier League at West Ham last weekend, they hit back to win after the break, this time with two goals from Julian Alvarez and one from Rodri.
City manager Guardiola said, “At the end after what we’ve done, that’s nice – after winning the treble, we need to be the type of champions who prove to ourselves that we are able to make a comeback.
“In this situation, it’s nice to prove it. In both games we played incredible and immediately at the start of the second half. We have things to improve in general but that’s really, really good.”
Guardiola was particularly impressed with the performance of his goalscorers. Alvarez has benefitted from a run in the side this season, while Rodri, match-winner in last season’s final, continues to excel.
Guardiola said of Alvarez, “His movement was so quick and he’s so young. What a signing the club have done. He has everything – fighting, goals, assists. Incredible. And he’s a
lovely guy. Playing behind Erling (Haaland), he is an incredible threat.”
Rodri has developed into one of the best midfielders in the game during his time at City and Guardiola is in no doubt he is now at the top.
He said, “Yes, he’s the best – but hopefully he can be better. He has a good mentality and good things to improve. But we were lucky again that the club has signed these type of players.”
Red Star coach Barak Bachar admitted City were the better side. He said, “We tried, we fought, but we conceded an early goal in the second half. They should have scored more.
“They are a great team, they have exceptional players. After we conceded it was difficult to maintain the pace, because we never play at this pace in our league. We learned a lot from this match.”