David Silva and Manchester City Sound Champions League Warning to Barcelona

Manchester City warmed up for their Champions League last-16 match with Barcelona on Tuesday with a thumping 5-0 win over Newcastle United, with David Silva scoring two goals and producing a wonderful all-round display. The Spanish midfielder now has nine league goals this season—the best haul of his career to date.

And on what was a near-perfect day for City, Premier League leaders Chelsea drew 1-1 at home with Burnley, meaning Manuel Pellegrini’s side is now just five points behind the west Londoners in the race for the title.

The quality of the goals City scored was remarkable as Newcastle were swatted away with ease, meaning Pellegrini was able to rest three of his most important players ahead of Tuesday’s big game and give Wilfried Bony his debut in pressure-free circumstances.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Man of the Match Silva, Sergio Aguero, who scored the opener, and the outstanding Samir Nasri were all taken off early, meaning City’s preparations ahead of the visit of Barcelona were ideal.

Edin Dzeko, a player who’s struggled for form this season, gave his best display of the campaign, winning a penalty inside the opening minute that Sergio Aguero dispatched with ease, before scoring a remarkable goal for City’s third.

It was only the Bosnian’s third league goal of the season, having gone 15 games without scoring—his longest barren run since signing for the club in 2011.

It’s not been an easy few months for Dzeko. After the joy of last season, where his contribution in the final few weeks proved crucial in City’s title win, this campaign has been much more stop-start, with injuries preventing him from establishing any kind of rhythm.

However, right from the off against Newcastle, he showed a desire to be involved, demanding the ball and looking to cause problems. His touch was back, and he was winning headers, holding the ball up for those around him. It was by far his finest performance since last season’s 3-0 win at Old Trafford.

The arrival of Bony appears to have inspired him, and Pellegrini will be hoping this is the catalyst for a return to better form for his striker.

But it was Silva who stole the show, displaying all of his trademark qualities—touch, vision, artistry and wonderful passing ability.

It was effortless. He floated around the pitch, finding pockets of space in between the lines where it’s hardest to pick him up, wreaking havoc with his eye for a pass.

And his goals were beautiful, the first a cool finish after a lovely move involving Aguero and Nasri, before a superb left-foot strike that left Tim Krul with no chance.

Add to that his wonderful floated ball to set up Dzeko for his goal, and it must surely rank as one of Silva’s best displays in a City shirt.

He remains the fulcrum of City’s attack, the man who orchestrates proceedings. Barcelona will need to minimise his impact if they want a repeat of last season’s straightforward first-leg win.

Chelsea remain in a strong position in the table, but the points gap being closed to five, as well as the goal difference being reduced, puts pressure on the leaders.

They surrendered a nine-point lead earlier in the campaign, only for City’s poor form to allow a sizable gap to reemerge, and that could play on their minds as the season reaches its climax.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Afterwards, Pellegrini said he was pleased with his side’s performance. An improvement on the 4-1 win at Stoke City in its last match, it was arguably its best display of the season.

“Yes, of course, it was a good day because we won our game, but not only we won, we returned to being a scoring team here, and we beat our last performance against Stoke,” he said. “We were a solid team and an aggressive team from the beginning.”

He also reserved special praise for Silva after his two goals: “David has already improved a lot, last game also against Stoke he came from an important injury in his knee.

“Maybe he was not playing 100 percent a few weeks ago, but when he is 100 percent, he always makes a difference. It is always very important for David and the team to have him in good condition.”

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.