Bernardo Silva is giving Man City what every title-winning team needs

Manchester City had to dig deep to see out their 1-0 win over Leeds as they cut the gap to Arsenal to two points once again

If Manchester City's season turns out to have a Silva lining this time round, Pep Guardiola will be grateful to one man more than most. Not Erling Haaland. Not Ballon d'Or winner Rodri. Not Gianluigi Donnarumma and not Saturday's match winner, Antoine Semenyo.

The chances are the footballer Guardiola will have the most gratitude for will be Bernardo Silva. The bloke who has sometimes lived in the shadows of some bigger names around him. But someone who has continued to shine like a genuine superstar for Guardiola through the good times and bad.

Silva is still worth his weight in gold to Guardiola at the age of 31, as City strive to win another Treble, or even a Quadruple, in the coming months. City wouldn't have won at Elland Road without Silva. It's as simple as that.

He might be small in stature, but few have a bigger heart than him when it comes to producing what Guardiola wants and needs on a consistent basis.

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In the white-hot atmosphere of Elland Road, Silva never flinched. Leeds tried to kick him from pillar to post at times, but he refused to buckle. It was the 37th appearance of the season for a midfielder who is rarely injured, and remains one of the first names on Guardiola's team sheet.

He arrived at the Etihad from Monaco almost a decade ago. He cost just £43million - and has gone on to pay the club back in spades. Not to mention in trophies. 17 of them and counting, to be precise.

During this time, Silva has shared the City dressing room with some of the club's most iconic players of all time. The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero and David Silva.

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When his namesake left the Etihad in 2020 following a decade of sheer brilliance, it felt like he couldn't be replaced. But Guardiola had already done it, in the shape of the Portuguese version.

Silva has gone on to become the bedrock for all the recent success City have had at home and abroad. His contract runs out in June, and it remains to be seen if he will sign an extension or leave the Etihad. Much will depend on what Guardiola decides to do.

But if Silva does decide to find a new challenge elsewhere, no one should begrudge him doing so one bit. He owes City nothing.

And whenever the curtain does come down on his glorious time in the blue half of Manchester, Silva deserves to be classed in the same bracket as those legends mentioned above.