"Too Much"—Bernardo Silva Slams Manchester City’s Defensive Collapse After Club World Cup Defeat to Al Hilal
Silva admits City lacked focus and organisation as Al Hilal punished them on the counter in a shocking 4-3 loss at the Club World Cup.
Bernardo Silva didn’t hold back after Manchester City’s shocking 4-3 loss to Al Hilal in the FIFA Club World Cup last-16, calling out his team’s failure to stop dangerous counter-attacks that ultimately led to their early exit from the tournament.
City looked to be in full control after Silva’s smart finish gave them the lead in the 10th minute, and the first half passed with little threat from the Saudi side. But things took a dramatic turn in the second half as Al Hilal came out with intensity and scored twice in just seven minutes, catching City cold on the break.
Despite goals from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, City were undone by two more goals from Al Hilal in extra time. Their defending on the counter left plenty to be desired, and Silva didn’t hide his frustration after the match.
“It was all about controlling when we lost the ball,” the Portuguese star said. “We let them run too many times. With one or two passes, there was always danger. When we allow teams to run like this, we always suffer a lot—and today was the case.”
City had cruised through the group stage and looked like serious contenders after demolishing Juventus 5-2. But this unexpected loss in Orlando, despite scoring three times, exposed old habits that came back to haunt Pep Guardiola’s men.
“What lacked was more concentration, more organisation when we lost the ball. We scored three and could’ve scored five or six. But it’s not enough when you don’t control transitions,” Silva continued.
The result stunned fans and left City players visibly deflated on the pitch at full-time. Their path to the final had appeared to open up after Fluminense knocked out Inter, but City couldn’t take advantage and now return home bitterly disappointed.
“A lot of disappointment because we wanted to do better,” Silva added. “We had a lot of ambition for this competition. But yeah, it’s football—they were good today, created a lot of problems, and deserved to win.”
The loss means Al Hilal move into the quarter-finals to face Fluminense, while Manchester City face hard questions over their defensive discipline and whether they took the Club World Cup challenge seriously enough.
