Bernardo's unflattering Man City nickname before scoring "really good goals"

Bernardo Silva was nicknamed "tap-in merchant" by his Manchester City team-mates - until he started scoring stunning goals this season.

Silva has emerged as City's most influential player this season, scoring seven goals to help Pep Guardiola's side open up a one-point lead at the top of the table.

The Portugal international revealed how team-mates Phil Foden and Jack Grealish gave him the unflattering nickname, for his knack of scoring simple goals from close-range.

But breathtaking strikes against Everton and Aston Villa - the latter an early contender for Goal of the Season - forced Foden and Grealish to revise their opinions, according to Silva.

"You know Jack and Phil, they called me a 'tap-in merchant'," said Silva. "But then, after this goal against Everton, I started scoring really good goals."

Silva became the first City player to win the club's Player of the Month award three times in a row, confirming his emergence as Guardiola's most important outfield player.

"It's an honour," said Silva "I guess it's not easy. I'm happy.

"I think these awards from our fans are the most important ones, because they watch all the games. I'm very happy they enjoy what I'm doing."

Silva will be a key man as City go in search of an eighth successive win in the Premier League at Newcastle tomorrow, to consolidate their position at the summit of the table.

Foden and Grealish are also set to start at St James' Park, after both scored in City's 7-0 mauling of Leeds at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

Both Foden and Grealish have been out of City's line-up in recent weeks due to injury, but the form of the pair since returning has made them undroppable.

After a slow start to his City career following his £100million move from Aston Villa last summer, Grealish has started to justify that record-breaking outlay on him.

Foden, who had a recurrence of an ankle problem that kept him out of England's Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy, looks to have shaken off that issue and plundered the opener against Leeds.

Competition for places remains fierce at City, with defender Nathan Ake, who also scored in the Leeds rout, admitting it keeps all of Guardiola's players on their toes.

"I think everyone knows that there are so many top players here," said Ake. "It's only good to compete with the best and to be around the best manager in the world and to learn from that.

"We have so many players and so many competitions, it's just good to be around, to learn and hopefully get a lot of games as well.

"We'll just do it game by game. There's another one on Sunday. We're on a great flow, we're doing really well and everyone feels good."