Bernardo Silva believes Manchester City lost their composure going forward and didn't do enough to contain Newcastle United's threat in the breathtaking match-up at St James' Park.
City's perfect start to their Premier League title defence screeched to a halt on Sunday when a relentless Newcastle rocked the Blues and held them to a 3-3 draw, though it could have been a lot worse. It looked like business as usual when Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring after just five minutes but the Magpies were undeterred.
The excellent Allan Saint-Maximin ran City ragged and it was no surprise when he played a key part in Miguel Almiron's equaliser and set up Callum Wilson for the second in a remarkable spell of football in which they could have scored even more, something Bernardo believes could well have happened.
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"It was a very intense game. We started very well," the Portuguese said. "The first 15 minutes were ours. My perception on the pitch was that we started attacking too quick.
"When we start playing like this and it's too quick it's better for the opponents. The last 25 or 30 minutes of the first half were very tough. They could have scored more than twice in that time."
Eddie Howe's side did grab a third when Kieran Trippier scored a stunning free-kick - won by Saint-Maximin - but the Blues then showed their own fighting spirit to claw themselves back. Erling Haaland halved the deficit with a thumping finish before Bernardo grabbed the leveller after being found by a remarkable Kevin De Bruyne pass.
Bernardo was happy with how the side reacted, even though there is an annoyance that a winner wasn't found. He continued: "Overall we played quite well but not controlling their counter-attacks and runners. You'll suffer and that's what happened today.
"We should have controlled the game better than we did today. We scored the third goal in the 64th minute. It was very early. I'm a bit disappointed we didn't score the fourth. But still a good reaction from the team.
"Not a perfect game but we take the point. It is what it is. Seven points from three games isn't bad. "We knew how tough it is to come here. The atmosphere is great. It's a very physical team. They've been great over the last few months. They're in a great state of mind with very positive energy."
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