Bernardo: Premier League standard highest I’ve seen | OneFootball

Bernardo Silva believes the current standard in the Premier League is the highest it’s been since his City arrival.

The Portugal international signed for the Club in the summer of 2017 and has since won a phenomenal 17 major trophies with Pep Guardiola’s side during his eight-and-a-half years in England so far.

That includes six top-flight titles, but the Blues, hit by numerous injuries this term , currently sit fourth in the table and are battling for Champions League qualification.

City sit one place behind Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Aston Villa are all vying with the Blues for a place in European football's premier competition.

Our quest for the top-four has been boosted by the arrival of four new faces in January, and Bernardo believes our new recruits have adjusted well to the relentless rigours of the Premier League.

“The standards now are even higher than when I arrived,” he explained.

“I would say that especially the midtable and lower table teams are much better now.

“The quality in the Premier League right now is unbelievable and it feels like every three days you have a Champions League game.

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“For the new players it is obviously difficult to adapt but they have done it in a fantastic way.”

City’s ability to compete for a unprecedented fifth successive Premier League title this term has been largely affected by losses to key players.

As a result, Bernardo has been required to adapt and operate to multiple positions from match-to-match including attacking midfield, as a six and on the wing.

But the Portugal international says playing in different positions is something that has helped his development as a player.

He said: “I would say that players have different qualities.

“Obviously, when you spend all of your academy years training in just one position, you need time to adapt to a different position and that happened with me.

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“For example, when I played false nine for a full season, I had to adapt and feel more comfortable.

“Your individual qualities say that you are probably better in a specific position, but I think the understanding of the game and the availability of being able to play in a lot of different positions helps you a lot as a footballer.”