Bernardo Silva lauds 'animal' Erling Haaland after Man City's 'very big' victory over title rivals Arsenal

The highly-anticipated clash between the league's top two sides was defined by a titanic individual battle between Haaland and Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes. Haaland ultimately emerged triumphant, holding off the Brazilian to fire home a 65th-minute winner that shifted the momentum of the title race back towards the blue half of Manchester. Speaking after the final whistle, Silva was quick to highlight the extraordinary effort put in by his teammate. "Erling was fantastic today fighting for every ball," Silva told Sky Sports. "It's not easy against two tough centre-backs. Today he fought like an animal."

The result moves Pep Guardiola's side to within three points of the Gunners, but crucially, City still hold a game in hand. Silva acknowledged the magnitude of the result, noting how quickly the outlook of the season has changed for the defending champions. "Very big because it puts us in a position if we win our game in hand we're on the same points. Two weeks ago this didn't look very likely, this scenario. I'm happy we can be on the same points," Silva explained. "It's a long season. A lot of small details didn't go our way this season. Also unlucky plays, we missed a lot of chances. A lot of games we should have won. Today things went our way. I'm really happy."

While Haaland took the headlines for his goal, the striker was eager to return the compliments to his captain. Despite Silva's diminutive stature compared to the Norwegian, Haaland was particularly impressed by the midfielder's defensive contributions, including a crucial header to clear a cross intended for Viktor Gyokeres.

"I remember that cross, when he headed it out, I told him he was like Cannavaro today," Haaland joked. The striker concluded with a heartfelt nod to the Portuguese international's consistency: "I'm not going to make it emotional but Bernie, you were really good as usual."

Haaland's afternoon was anything but comfortable, as Gabriel frequently engaged in physical skirmishes with the striker, at one point even tearing his undershirt. There were also the flashpoint that saw Gabriel appear to move his head toward Haaland, leading to debates over whether the defender should have seen a red card. Reflecting on the duel, Haaland said: "I think it's always like this, a lot of fighting and things like this. It's up to others to decide if I won that battle or not. I scored the goal so I won the battle in that moment, it was a great goal, it was a decisive moment and we win."