Pep Guardiola Returning David Silva to His Best Is Good News for Manchester City

Even the Manchester City fans, amid the excitement of Pep Guardiola’s appointment, weren’t expecting this.

Three games in eight days have yielded three wins. More promising than the results, though, is City’s improving style of play. Quick, intense, incisive and brilliantly off the cuff—a month into the job, Guardiola is having an obvious effect.

The City fans were prepared to wait for Guardiola's ideas to take hold. There's plenty of scope for further improvement, but it's a case of so far, so good.

A number of players embody the improvements, most obviously Raheem Sterling—but it’s perhaps David Silva’s renaissance that will please City fans the most.

Up until the October international break last season, Silva’s stock with the club’s supporters was about as high as it could be. There were plenty of discussions both online and at matches about whether he was the greatest player in City’s history.

For years, Colin Bell, who won a league title, an FA Cup, two League Cups and a European Cup Winners' Cup during a distinguished 14-year spell at City, had unanimously been given that honour. In a similar way to how the Beatles are widely considered the finest band in the history of music, the opinion was so overwhelmingly in Bell's favour that no one seemingly had a chance of taking the title from him.

DANIEL MIHAILESCU/Getty Images

But Silva is a special player, and even supporters from Bell’s generation were beginning to soften their stances. The Spaniard, who arrived at City just days after becoming a World Cup winner in 2010, had been a constant source of brilliance, a player who dictated games and set the tempo.

Whereas Sergio Aguero has often determined how many goals City win by, Silva has been the key to whether they win the game at all.

Per Simon Mullock of the Sunday Mirror, Silva said in 2014:

"

If fans are suggesting I might be the best City player they have seen, then of course I am honoured by that.

I have always felt welcome, wanted, appreciated by the supporters at City and that's why I am still here.

I know this club had great players who are still remembered from the last team that won the title, and we also have great players here today.

But the important thing for me is playing football as well as I can.

"

However, his injury on international duty 10 months ago had a damaging effect on his performances last season. The ankle pain never really subsided. It affected his movement and comfort on the pitch.

By the end of the season, Manuel Pellegrini was resting him at least once a week in an attempt to see him play somewhere close to his best in the Champions League, the only hope the Chilean had of ending his reign on a high.

It was Silva’s most disappointing campaign. With Guardiola set to arrive, some were writing the 30-year-old off. How could he excel in such a high-intensity style? Surely he'd be a victim of the new manager's ruthlessness.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

Such predictions were, of course, ludicrous. Guardiola wants his sides to cherish the ball. Possession and opening teams up with moments of brilliance and inventiveness were the hallmarks of his success at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. No one in the City squad can do those things as well as Silva.

After a European Championship that saw him move somewhere close to his best form, without ankle problems holding him back, he’s returned to City looking well-rested and ready for a big season. After three games, he’s arguably been City's best player.

He’s been given licence to roam. He and Kevin De Bruyne have been paired together and both asked to play “free eight” roles.

"It’s a different role," De Bruyne told the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (h/t the Guardian). "It’s all right. It’s a little change, but it’s all right. The coach has his own tactics. I play not as a No. 10 but as a free eight with a lot of movement everywhere."

"

David Silva ran 4.2 miles last season away at Stoke before being subbed (equivalent of 6.1 miles in 90') - this season, he ran 7.8 miles.

— City Watch (@City_Watch) August 22, 2016"

It allows both players the chance to move between central-midfield and attacking roles. If they drop back and join Fernandinho in the middle, they can use their passing ability to knit possession together and give City fluidity. But with licence to get forward, they can influence things in the final third, where both are capable of that key pass to unlock a defence.

B/R / Karl Matchett

Silva is revelling. He’s influencing the team’s tempo and style again. He constantly wants the ball, and with his new freedom, he can move into the exact areas he wants to receive it. Sitting deeper allows him to dictate play; moving into the final third can see him carve a defence open.

He’s been prominent in all of City’s matches so far, producing assists and key passes and generally giving the team added silk in possession.

"

Great work from @sterling7 tees up @21LVA to give @ManCity a deserved early lead in Romania. #UCL https://t.co/e90aXtZZls

— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) August 16, 2016"

Guardiola must be careful not to overuse him, though. Part of Silva’s problem last season was he looked burned out, jaded by his heavy schedule in recent seasons.

Playing for a successful club and country is what every footballer strives for, but it can have drawbacks. The last five seasons have seen him take the minimum three-week summer break players are afforded before returning to action.

He’s won a World Cup, a European Championship, two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and finished second in a FIFA Confederations Cup in that time, and he was part of the City side that reached the Champions League semi-final last term for the first time in the club’s history.

He has played 261 times for City in his six full seasons—an average of 44 club games a year—and has racked up more than 100 caps for Spain, the majority of those earned while a City player. It’s been a glittering yet gruelling period.

"

He scored last night and he also netted #onthisday two years ago! @21LVA! 👏👏 #mcfc https://t.co/taJmsXBARs

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 17, 2016"

Guardiola has reintroduced a sense of fun to City’s game. There’s discipline to their work, but he’s encouraged his players to express themselves and try things. Silva isn’t the only one responding well to the new approach.

Guardiola won’t be resting on his laurels, though. Three straight wins is a fine start, but there are still plenty of improvements City can make. They laboured at times against Sunderland and took their foot off the gas against Stoke City. The 5-0 win away at Steaua Bucharest is by far their most complete performance, but that comes with the caveat of the opposition being markedly inferior.

The signs are good, though. City look inventive and daring again—quicker and more intense than last season. Returning Sterling to a high level is the most obvious feather in Guardiola’s man-management cap, but his use of Silva is perhaps his most telling tactical contribution in the first month of his reign.

Silva is back—and that can only be good news for City.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.