Bernardo Silva makes title race admission as Manchester City lose further ground to Arsenal | OneFootball

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva has reflected on his side’s goalless draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Thursday evening.

Pep Guardiola’s side are now four points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal in a title race that has taken several twists and turns in recent months, with City gradually finding their rhythm and creeping up close to Mikel Arteta’s formidable Gunners.

City are vying for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons as they look to keep up with Arsenal, who send a statement to the rest of the division by putting third-placed Aston Villa to the sword this week.

The Blues are missing key players but after a major revamp of the first-team ranks in the summer, Guardiola has a young, hungry group of players who have turned a corner since September – having made a slugging start to the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.

Guardiola and co went on an eye-catching run of eight games in all competitions in December to finish 2025 but were held to a frustrating, goalless draw by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Thursday evening.

City squandered a series of chances to break open a resolute Sunderland backline but the Blues left their shooting boots in Manchester as the Black Cats claimed a valiant point against the title chasers, leaving the Blues frustrated and ending their winning run.

Speaking candidly on the result with Sky Sports, Manchester City skipper Bernardo Silva reflected on a disappointing evening in the north-east. “Two different halves; I’d say in the first-half we didn’t play that well, didn’t control counters as well as we should,” the Portugal international said.

“We attacked a bit too quick, we didn’t move them to then find the spaces. And then a second-half where we had a lot of chances, that’s my perception, what I felt! Today was one of those days where we couldn’t finish them. And it’s fine, it’s a point. Obviously we’re not happy because we wanted better, but still a long season.”

Sunderland did not just sit back and allow Manchester City to dictate proceedings as they posed a great threat on the break, coming close to cause an upset on several occasions over the course of the game.

“They (Sunderland) are a good team! It’s no coincidence that they’re undefeated at home this season. A lot of credit to them! But we’re fighting for the title, trying to stay as close as possible to the top, so we need to win these kind of games. Unfortunately today we didn’t. We missed a lot of chances, but on to the next one,” the 31-year-old added.

“You can’t be perfect every time, every half, every minute – we know that. The team is showing a lot of resilience at the minute in moments where we don’t play that well, we’re still very consistent, still very stable. And today I thought, once again, we were that. Unfortunately, we missed the last step to score but that’s the game.”

Silva will be desperate to lead Manchester City back to winning ways this weekend, when the Blues welcome an out-of-form Chelsea side – who have just parted company with former City assistant coach Enzo Maresca as manager – to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.