Bernardo tells team-mates not to ‘cry’ over errors that have cost Man City dear

The Portuguese was bemused by referee Darren England’s decision not to award a penalty after Erling Haaland appeared to be fouled against Nottingham Forest but says they have only themselves to blame for not winning

Every time he watches a rerun of Matz Sels colliding with Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva is increasingly bemused that Darren England did not award what could have been a decisive penalty kick.

Every time he sees the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper get nowhere near the ball, he is increasingly mystified that Haaland was not given the chance to give Manchester City a two-goal lead from the spot deep into the second half.

But Silva is not bitter. He believes he is simply telling it like it is, rather than making excuses for the blips in City form that have seen Pep Guardiola’s side win only six of their last 11 Premier League games.

And the team’s current captain says the players themselves have to take full responsibility for not putting enough pressure on Arsenal, who now enjoy a seven-point lead at the top of the table.

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Silva said: “It’s on us that we didn’t win (against Forest). It’s on us that we conceded the goal in the last minute against Chelsea at home, that we didn’t win against Brighton at home, that we were winning 2-0 against Tottenham away and we let them come back into that game.

“We were leading twice (against Forest) and we let them come back. This is all on us. It definitely puts us in a worse position. There are still nine games to go for us, which is a long way.

“But we’re not happy, obviously. We wanted to be closer to put a bit more pressure on them. This feels a bit frustrating and worse for us. If we look at the games that we have, it’s going to be a tough job.”

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And, of course, City – and Arsenal – are fighting on four fronts, with trips to Newcastle in the FA Cup and to Real Madrid in the Champions League next on the schedule. That is why, says Silva, the players cannot feel sorry for themselves after throwing away winning opportunities against Forest.

He went on: “We’re still in four competitions so there’s no point in looking back now and crying. We need to go for the next game and hopefully we’re going to have the last two and a half months, three months, fighting for all the titles.”

But Silva knows City will have to step up their game, particularly with respect to the entire team’s defensive duties. He was making reference to what appeared to be slack pressing from Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki ahead of the Elliot Anderson strike that earned Forest a point on Wednesday night.

He said: “The first (Forest) goal is an unbelievable goal from Morgan (Gibbs-White) – the way he finishes, it’s quite surprising. So I would say in this type of situation, we clap and that’s it.

“The second goal frustrates me a little bit more because we don’t defend well. There’s a clear one-two that we don’t follow the movement.

“When you don’t do the basics well you get punished. Mistakes happen, we go to the next one, but we need to defend those actions better.”

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