“Let’s not deny it” – Manchester City player explains why international break ‘very beneficial’ for Pep’s side

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva is of the belief this international break has come at a right time for the Premier League winners.

The 30-year-old is with Portugal and featured in their 5-1 win over Poland in the UEFA Nations League on Friday. After the tie, he spoke to reporters and his comments are relayed by O Jogo.

Silva has talked about Manchester City’s poor run in recent weeks. The Citizens entered this international break after suffering four consecutive defeats in a row.

This includes a 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup, a 4-1 defeat to Sporting Club de Portugal in the Champions League and defeats to AFC Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. All four defeats came away from home.

Injuries have played their part as Pep Guardiola has to do without midfielder Rodri while Kevin De Bruyne only returned to the pitch at the start of November, after spending over a month on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury.

Silva was asked about Manchester City’s ‘negative phase’ and admitted the international fixtures have come at an ideal time.

“This break has been very beneficial for us. Let’s not deny it: it was a difficult time for our team,” he said.

“It had never happened to me in my career. At City, I can’t even remember losing two games in a row.”

“It’s [the break] done us good, because there are players who will be back from injury, and we have fresh heads to get back to our maximum level at this stage of the season.”

Manchester City are currently second in the table, trailing league leaders Liverpool by five points. They will host Tottenham in the league on November 23rd.