Bernardo continued his excellent start to the season with a sensational strike in Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa, dispatching a first-time volley past Emiliano Martinez to finish off a slick counter-attack.
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The 27-year-old has been one of City’s key men in the opening months of the campaign and former goalkeeper Given believes he is only going to get better as he compared him to namesake Silva, who lit up the Etihad Stadium with 10 years of sustained excellence.
“What a phenomenal finish,” said Given on the latest edition of Matchday Live.
“It’s one of the goals of the season. A player with less confidence would definitely look to take a touch and get himself settled. He made it look so simple, it’s an absolutely brilliant finish.
“There doesn’t seem to be a ceiling for him. Players like Bernardo should be in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or. He’s in such a rich vein of form.
“He’s nearly a clone of David Silva and he’s just brilliant player. He is just so natural and great on the eye.”
City deservedly opened up a two-goal lead by half-time at Villa Park, where Ruben Dias also netted a fine strike as the visitors produced a classy display in the opening 45-minutes.
However, Ollie Watkins hit back shortly after the restart to set up a hard fought second period in which Pep Guardiola’s men were grateful to Ederson for a superb stop to deny Carney Chukwuemeka.
Given, who kept 113 clean sheets in the Premier League, was suitably impressed, declaring the importance of the Brazilian’s save as equal to any goal.
“He made a fantastic save in a one v one situation,” added the former Republic of Ireland international.
“If that goes in, Villa could hang on for a draw. Ederson gets mentioned for how good he is with the ball at his feet, but that’s a big moment in the season. It’s a massive save.
“He is the best in the league with the ball at his feet. He is so cool and so calm, he’s great to watch. Some people forget about the goalkeeping side of things. He is a fantastic goalkeeper, as well.
“It’s the big save because that’s two points tonight he’s saved them. Albeit Bernardo scored an unbelievable goal, good enough to win any game, but that save, for me, was as good as a goal.”
