Bernardo Silva: Man City ‘played like U15 players’ in defeat to Man United

Bernardo Silva said Manchester City “played like under-15s” in the closing stages against Manchester United after the out-of-form Premier League champions suffered a dismal 2-1 derby defeat on Sunday.

City appeared to be on their way to a much-needed win at the Etihad Stadium before a series of errors occurred towards the end. Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty in the 88th minute before Amad Diallo scored the winner in stoppage time.

Both goals were the result of sloppy City defending, particularly the first goal after Matheus Nunes gave the ball away before knocking Diallo down in the penalty area.

The defeat means City have won just one of their last 11 games in all competitions, continuing the club’s worst form since 2006.

“We deserved what happened,” Silva told Sky Sports. “At this level, one or two games are unlucky. We can’t say it’s good luck or bad luck – ten games, that’s not what it’s about.”

“Minute 87 in a derby, 1-0 win and our corner ends with a penalty for them. If we make these stupid decisions with three or four minutes to go, you deserve to pay. When I look at the game, I think, “There was only one team that could win the game, but in the end we lost.

“It’s not one game; there are a lot of games lately. We have to look at ourselves. You can’t say, oh, it’s a bit unlucky, no. It’s the decisions you make. Today we played like under– in the last minute. 15s.”

Silva added: “It’s normal that we’re not very happy at the moment. Not just this game, but also the last month. We have to do better individually and collectively because this is not up to Manchester City’s standards.”

Fellow midfielder Phil Foden was similarly dismayed as City – who have the lowest points per game in the entire league since the start of November – suffered an “unacceptable” defeat. The Englishman also suggested City’s problem was a “mental thing”.

“Massively (disappointed) – the game was in our hands,” he told the BBC. “We were 1-0 up and controlled the game. We had a lot of possession. Seems like that at the moment. I don’t know what happens, but we switch off and they score two goals.”

“At the moment it keeps happening. We have to stick together now, rebuild and get going again.”

“You can concede a goal when the score is 1-1, but you can’t concede a goal straight after, that’s unacceptable.”

“In the beginning when you lose a few games (it’s not a mentality problem) but when it happens a lot it feels like a mental thing. We have to get out of there, get back on track and pick ourselves up again.” “