Real Madrid midfielder Bernardo Silva has had it tough these last few weeks. He had rarely played any football in these few weeks, and it seemed like despite having a good start to life at the club, the Portuguese man had already lost his place in this Real Madrid starting XI.
However, he was brought back into the team by Jose Mourinho in the game against Barcelona, which seemed like a very, very rare start for the team in the last few weeks. Real Madrid fans have been begging for the midfielder to start because of how well the team plays when he is on the pitch, but Mourinho refused to do so for whatever reason.
Whether it was because of the hierarchy at the club, or because of simply choosing players he might have preferred over the Portuguese man, Silva just did not play too much, and it was bothering fans far more than they thought.
Bernardo Silva was so good against Barcelona
However, the game against Barcelona was hopefully the point after which everything changes for Silva. Mourinho knows what Silva can provide to this team, and he gave him a chance to show his quality, and that he deserves to start in the XI - something that Mourinho clearly did not think so - and the midfielder ended up proving him wrong with a very impressive performance.
As it always is with Silva, it was as much about what Real Madrid fans definitely noticed as it was about what they could have missed - and there was a lot to dissect from both of them.
Real Madrid fans definitely noticed the way he helped his team evade the press from Barcelona on so many occasions with just one pass or one move. They noticed how he would constantly move around to support his teammates whenever they were under any sort of pressure.
They also noticed how Silva worked his socks off in defense. He did run out of gas in the second half, when Pedri grew into the game, but until then, Silva was playing brilliant football.
And then there are the things fans might not notice. There were so many different sequences where he would drop back to support the defense, but not in the way you'd think.
Silva wouldn't do it to get the ball, he'd instead get closer to the ball-carrier so that he'd attract bodies and let others free. These things are small, and sometimes fans don't read too much into it, but in reality, they help you in so many ways.
Silva does a host of these little things to help the team, and it is a shock that Mourinho hasn't played him in more games. Hopefully the Clasico was a sign of things to come.
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