The Portuguese Bernardo Silva, Manchester City star, acknowledged that his team was not at its best defensively during the match against Aston Villa, confirming that weak pressing was the main reason behind the team's struggles in the game, in statements made after the match.

Silva said: "Our attacking ideas are very good, and we felt comfortable when we had the ball, and although we didn't score, we created chances. I felt we managed to force them to retreat and defend deeply, and they faced difficulties at certain moments."

The Portuguese star added: "But defensively, we were very poor. Our pressing was extremely weak; it felt like we were arriving late by a second or two in every challenge, and when you arrive late against players with quality like those of Aston Villa, it will always be difficult."

Silva continued to explain: "When the pressing is not good, you allow the game to turn into a transitional match, giving the other team a chance to run, forcing us to run distances of 50 to 60 meters each time, and when our pressing is not effective, our team does not play well."

Bernardo Silva's statements came after a poor defensive performance from City, where the player pointed out the need to improve collective pressing to restore the team's balance in upcoming matches.