Bernardo Silva felt Manchester City had fallen into a “dark place” after being thrashed 4-1 by Sporting Lisbon.
City were stunned by incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim’s side at the Jose Alvalade Stadium on Tuesday, slumping to a third successive defeat after a hat-trick by former Coventry striker Viktor Gyokeres.
It was also City’s first reverse in the Champions League – excluding a penalty shoot-out – since 2022 and, coming after losses to Tottenham and Bournemouth in the past week, Silva feels the team must do some soul-searching.
“It’s disappointing because we’re a bit in a dark place right now,” the Portugal international told TNT Sports. “Everything looks to be going in the wrong way.
“Even when we are playing well we don’t score our chances and we concede too easily.
“We definitely need to look inside and check what we’re not doing well, and we need to get better very quickly otherwise it will be very difficult to come back from these losses.”
Manager Pep Guardiola had a more optimistic outlook and insisted he was relishing the challenge of bouncing back.
The City boss, who takes his side to Brighton on Saturday, said: “I don’t agree with him. We are not in the dark side.
“We played really bad against Bournemouth but really good here. The only regret is conceding the third and fourth – the penalties were not necessary.
“We knew it would be a tough season at the start and this is what it is. I like it, I love it, I want to face it and lift my players. Life is like this. We continue.
“What should we do? We go back to Manchester and prepare for the game at Brighton. I won’t give up, that’s for sure.”
City had dominated the early proceedings and looked like they could win comfortably after Phil Foden pounced on a mistake to open the scoring after four minutes.
The game turned when Gyokeres – tipped to follow Amorim to Old Trafford – broke clear to level and the Swede added two more from the spot after Maximiliano Araujo put Sporting ahead.
City’s frustration was compounded when Erling Haaland missed a penalty.
It made for the perfect send-off for Amorim, who was taking charge of his final home match before officially starting work at United next week.
Amorim, who took a long lap of honour after the game, said: “Those who were here and have seen Sporting over the last four years deserved a night like this. It was very special.
“But we shouldn’t stop here, it shouldn’t be a one-off. It was special in the circumstances but we have to think about the next match against Braga.
“Perhaps it was written in the stars we should end this way. I will keep these memories forever but I cannot enjoy them fully yet.”
Sarina Wiegman praised her England team after they “kept it simple” in a 5-0 rout of Nations League opponents Belgium at Ashton Gate.First-half goals from Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright underlined England’s control of the contest, and it could have been more but Alessia Russo twice hit the post.Substitute Aggie Beever-Jones scored her maiden Lionesses goal after 67 minutes, with n...
Valerien Ismael insisted he was the man to turn around Blackburn’s fortunes after a 2-0 home defeat to Middlesbrough played out on a night of sustained fan protests against the club’s ownership and his own management.Boro moved into the play-off places with a fifth win in seven as they make a late promotion charge, but it is a very different story for Blackburn who have dropped out of ...
Middlesbrough climbed up to fifth in the Championship with a 2-0 win over beleaguered Blackburn that piled pressure on Valerien Ismael and the club’s hierarchy at a febrile Ewood Park.Against a backdrop of angry fan protests against the Venky’s Group that has owned Rovers since 2010, Boro struck twice in the opening eight minutes to take control.Tommy Conway needed less than 90 seconds...
England comfortably preserved their unbeaten record in this season’s Nations League after a dominant display saw them brush aside Belgium 5-0 at Ashton Gate.First-half goals from Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright underlined England’s control of the contest, and it could have been more but Alessia Russo twice hit the post.Substitute Aggie Beever-Jones scored her first Lionesses goal after 6...
Tottenham will do everything they can to keep hold of winger Dejan Kulusevski amid reported interest from Serie A giants Napoli and AC Milan.According to GiveMeSport, Spurs see the 24-year-old as a key player and are planning for next season with the winger.It’s understood that any attempt to sign him would take a fee of around £50 million, which may reluctantly be accepted.Kulusevski h...
Arsenal have reportedly cooled their interest in Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins ahead of the summer transfer window.According to Sky Sports, Arsenal have set their sights on other targets after making an offer for the 29-year-old in January.The Gunners attempted to sign the England international with a reported £60 million offer, which was ultimately turned down by Aston Villa.It’s u...
Chelsea are reportedly keeping tabs on Borussia Dortmund youngster Jamie Gittens ahead of the summer transfer window.According to David Ornstein at The Athletic, the 20-year-old is one of several wingers Chelsea are taking a close look at.Gittens started the season with a bang but has fallen off somewhat, failing to register a goal contribution in 16 games across all competitions.Despite his drop-...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today.KAI GROOMING EPL Week 30!! Thomas Partey this season Cristiano Ronaldo reaches 20 league goals in a season for the 𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡 time in his career Ange might not like what he's hearing next Haaland won’t be the same without KDB! These Two GOATs have always had immense respect for each other! Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Cred...
Premier League leaders Liverpool are going to have a busy summer transfer window.The Reds are currently working on new contracts for players like Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah while also preparing for the departure of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.Players like Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz are also facing an uncertain future at Anfield and could be replaced after this season.The Merseyside cl...
Alejandro Garnacho has dropped a Manchester United transfer hint by putting his £3.9m mansion up for sale after just a year.Garnacho puts £3.9m mansion up for saleCould hint at summer transferWinger nearly left Man Utd in JanuaryWHAT HAPPENED?Garnacho only bought the property in Bowdon last April but is already selling it, suggesting that a departure from United could be on the cards thi...
- 1 Reading extend unbeaten League One run to 11 games with win over Peterborough
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Hollywood superstar Anne Hathaway sends clear message to Bukayo Saka
- 7 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 8 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 9 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 10 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis