David Silva recalls Manchester United moment as one of his best Man City memories

Manchester City midfielder will play his last Premier League game against Norwich and has been looking back over his time

David Silva has picked out THAT pass against Manchester United as one of the highlights of his ten years at Manchester City.

The Blues legend is expected to play his final Premier League game against Norwich on Sunday, and will leave supporters with a thousand happy memories.

And Silva has been talking about some of the high points – and one low period – of his time at City.

The Spain international has scored some memorable goals, and made some memorable assists in the last decade, but his career was really sparked by his first Premier League goal, in a 3-2 win at Blackpool in October 2010.

It was not his first City goal – that came a month earlier in a Europa League win at Red Bull Salzburg – but it made English football sit up and take notice.

Before that marvellous goal, the critics had been quick to dismiss him as too lightweight, not quick enough, or not deadly enough in front of goal to make a success of life in England.

Silva admits it was a goal he needed after an ordinary start to life at his new club after a £24million move.

“It was very good because this goal gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “It made me feel more relaxed and proved I was adapting to the style of play here.

“When I arrived after the World Cup I wasn’t in my best physical shape. Slowly but surely I got up to speed and the truth is that goal gave me a huge boost to play the way I wanted.”

The Blues did not have long to wait before City’s investment in him, Carlos Tevez, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero really began to pay off – and the breakthrough came with the FA Cup triumph in 2011, ending a 35-year wait for a trophy.

Silva remembers that final win over Stoke: “An amazing day – they had told us that we had a project and it was to win trophies and then in my first year we won the FA Cup. The rest is history.

“We have won a lot of titles since then. As they said to me at the time I joined, that was their project for us and the truth is, we made it happen.”

But it was the following season that Silva really took centre stage. He was the guile behind City’s dramatic first Premier League win.

And the moment that he volleyed a stunning pass to Edin Dzeko – having just nutmegged David De Gea to make it 5-1 – is high on any City fan’s list of great Silva moments.

Typically, Silva passes the credit to Dzeko, for his finish: “It was a really beautiful pass but it was down to Edin too because if he hadn’t scored then it wouldn’t have been spoken about so much.

“Passes always have more value when there’s a goal on the end of them! He was a spectacular player for us, he lost his opponents very easily and his finishing was good too.

“The truth is it was a complete performance from the whole team. 6-1 against United at Old Trafford. Imagine that. The whole team played so well and what’s more, it was a historic result.”

That led directly to City beating the Reds to the league title on the final day of the season on goal difference, after a nerve-shredding extra time win over Queen’s Park Rangers.

Says Silva: “I think that we deserved the league that year because we had played very well.

“We had to suffer a bit but anyway the Premier League is a very difficult league and the most difficult is making that first step forward and winning it for the first time. We were able to win it and it took a weight off our shoulders.”

But it has not always been champagne and roses for Silva in his time at City.

He had a recurring ankle injury which troubled him from 2014 to 2016, and played through the pain barrier at times to help the Blues succeed.

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That, and the premature birth of his son Mateo in 2017 are the two low moments of his City career, but both have had happy outcomes.

“The problems come when you have injuries. They stop your career path and make you unhappy because you want to play,” he said. “I think this has been the main challenge.

“There were moments when my ankle was really bad, I had to have an injection before I played and then eventually couldn’t carry on – and it was so frustrating.

“But in the end everything has been worth it, everything has gone so well for me and I have been able to help the team.

“I try and work hard every day, to make sure that I am in good shape and fit to avoid injuries. Then I enjoy myself.

“On the pitch I try to have fun, knowing that I’m at an age now where I’m going to play less and less.

“I try to enjoy myself and work hard right until the end of the game. I think that with hard work, you can play for a long time at a good level.”