Sitting pretty at the summit of the Premier League table with 25 points, 32 goals and just 4 goals conceded, Manchester City are certainly there to be shot at by the chasing pack of title contenders, and summer signing Bernardo Silva believes that his new employers will have their resources tested in the coming weeks, despite being unbeaten so far in 9 domestic outings.

Complicated

Beating Sean Dyche's Burnley 3-0 at the Etihad on Saturday, Pep Guardiola's men have the right to be comfortable in their lofty surroundings in the standings, and though it's not the biggest of wins which they've accomplished this term, it was an assured measure of their calibre against a steadfast Clarets fold.

But, presumably to stave-off an air of complacency in the 'Sky Blues' camp, Silva said - according to a report published by the Manchester Evening Standard: "You cannot always win 7-0 or 7-2, or 6-1 or 5-0." Although City's potent fluency on the pitch has warranted such domineering results in recent weeks. "Some games are more complicated than others," he added.

A "winning" mentality is something that the diminutive midfielder feels is key to success, and if 'Pep's' squad continue in the same vein, they will ultimately maintain their position at the top of the Premier League tree, as well as becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League. However, the path to supremacy possesses many further twists and turns yet.

Simulation

Since joining City from reigning Ligue 1 champions AS Monaco in the summer transfer window, Silva, 23, has featured 12 times in all competitions collectively, offering 3 assists whilst netting once.

During Saturday's victory over Burnley, Silva was involved in an incident which saw his side claim a penalty, though the attacker has been accused of diving by many in order to gain the advantage in the decision, which condemned Burnley to concede the first goal of the encounter from the spot through Sergio Aguero, who subsequently matched the club's goal-scoring record.

Simulation has no place in the modern game and Silva is indeed a professional who is avowedly motivated to "win, win, win", but City's number 20 is undoubtedly a player of upholding standards and ethics, so with the jury still very much out on the pressing penalty matter, the underlying fact still remains that the officials did presumably issue the punishment upon Burnley by the letter of the footballing law, a definitive and final verdict on the questionable sequence of events in the danger area which signalled the Lancashire-based outfit's collapse.
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