Silva sublime as he introduces his son to the Etihad crowd

Having recently announced his retirement from international football, Spanish playmaker David Silva returned to the Etihad Stadium and was back to his best under Pep Guardiola. 

The 32-year-old made his 250th appearance in front of the Manchester City faithful, and capped it off with an unstoppable free kick to make the scoreline 4-1. 

David Silva's eight-month-old son, Mateo, was introduced to the players and fans before kick off. Mateo was born prematurely in December 2017, which resulted in his father frequently travelling back to Spain with his son in hospital. 

In January, Silva revealed that his son was "fighting day by day", and Guardiola gave the City legend the all-clear to travel home throughout the close of the season. 

Guardiola spoke about the player's contribution on Sunday: "He made an outstanding performance, the first game after the ­summer time. Of course, he was so motivated because his family, parents, wife, and especially Mateo were here.

"He scored an amazing goal for him. His son will never forget the first time he saw his father play football, he scored this outstanding goal.

"We met him the first time a two days ago. Today, he was in the locker room with all the team, all the squad.

"Last season was a tough moment for all his family. Fortunately the little boy fought a lot and he is here. It's a special day for him, for us, for David."

 

16 August 2018