Bernardo Silva in disagreement with Pep Guardiola over Erling Haaland and Manchester City goalscoring share | OneFootball

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva appears to be in disagreement with his manager Pep Guardiola over the club’s share of the goalscoring burden this season.

The Portuguese midfielder’s latest comments reflect an interesting contrast in opinion within the City camp regarding how responsibility in front of goal should be shared among those on the pitch.

Guardiola has repeatedly urged players to contribute more across all areas, calling for midfielders and wide players to step up alongside Erling Haaland. However, Bernardo Silva has taken a more relaxed stance.

Manchester City’s attack has been subject to a certain level of scrutiny in recent weeks amid Haaland’s exceptional start to the campaign. The Norwegian striker has scored in 12 consecutive games across all competitions, including the Champions League victory away at Villarreal earlier this week.

While some pundits have suggested that Manchester City risk becoming overly dependent on their No.9, Pep Guardiola has emphasised the need for “collective productivity,” pointing to the likes of Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Phil Foden, and Tijjani Reijnders as key secondary sources of goals.

Yet Bernardo Silva’s new remarks suggest the captain does not share his manager’s concerns, insisting that as long as the team keeps winning, the identity of the goalscorer is irrelevant, speaking to reporters this week as relayed by the Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski.

“I don’t think that matters a lot. If other players score, obviously it’s nice as well,” Bernardo Silva explained.

“But as long as we win football games, I don’t care if Erling scores zero and the other guy scores two each, or if he scores 20 and no one else scores. We want to win football games and that’s what we’ve been doing, so I’m quite happy with that.”

The Manchester City captain has also looking at the ongoing season as a whole, and the improvements seen from the side in comparison to last season, whilst also assessing whether it is too early to have their eye on trophy-winning ambitions come May and June.

“The players are improving every day, and hopefully in a few months we can be even better than we are now. That’s the goal. We know that usually this team is always better in the end of the season than in the beginning, and that’s the aim,” the veteran midfielder said.

Bernardo Silva continued, “If we can stay there on the top until February, March, to fight for titles, then we know what we’re able to do. We’re happy with the momentum, we’re happy that in the Champions League we’re in a good position, and in the Premier League we’re also in a good position.

“Now we have tough games. We have Aston Villa away, which no one can say is an easy game. Then again in a few weeks the Champions League starts again, and we want this season to qualify in the top eight. We know how important it is to not have those two extra games. But yeah, we’re happy with our momentum right now, with the way the team is playing.”

Looking ahead, Pep Guardiola will hope that the friendly difference in perspective only fuels further motivation among his players. With Aston Villa next on the horizon, City’s attack will continue to come under focus, particularly in how they respond if Erling Haaland is unavailable or unable to find the back of the net on possible rare off-days.

Bernardo Silva’s pragmatic view, prioritising wins over scoring balance, also reflects the broader confidence that Manchester City’s squad carries after years of sustained success.

And while Pep Guardiola will continue to demand more from every department, there is little doubt that a healthy debate between captain and coach could prove another driving force behind Manchester City’s pursuit of silverware this season.