Man City fans gush over one player following derby victory vs Man United

Manchester City's supporters have taken to Twitter in their droves this evening to wax lyrical over midfielder David Silva, following his showing during their derby clash with Manchester United.

Matchup

The two fierce rivals went head to head at Old Trafford today, with the hosts looking to close the 8-point gap to City atop the Premier League table.

United came into proceedings on the back of 4 consecutive wins across all competitions, with the Red Devils' most recent domestic victory having seen the Manchester giants put Arsenal to the sword in a thrilling affair at the Emirates last weekend.

City, meanwhile, had seen their blistering early season form begin to evade them of late, with Pep Guardiola's men having earned their last 4 victories by just a solitary goal.

Teams

With Paul Pogba suspended and Marouane Fellaini still struggling with injury, United boss Jose Mourinho sprung something of a surprise with his attack-minded starting lineup for this evening's clash, opting for all of Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku from the off.

Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, was able to call on both David Silva and Vincent Kompany from the start, with Gabriel Jesus given the nod ahead of Sergio Aguero at the forefront of the table-toppers' attack.

Level at the break

The early goings of today's derby saw the visitors control the majority of possession, with both Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling seeing half-chances saved by David De Gea in the United goal.

Mourinho's men struggled to gain any real influence on proceedings, with their fleeting counter-attacks generally snuffed out by City's central defensive partnership of Nicolas Otamendi and Vincent Kompany.

Though City hadn't created many clear-cut opportunities over the course of the opening 45 minutes, their dominance in possession eventually paid off when David Silva managed to get the decisive touch following a corner for the visitors, tapping home past a helpless David De Gea just before the interval.

But, incredibly, with essentially their first chance of the match, United went on to equalise 3 minutes later, as Marcus Rashford slotted home impressively past the onrushing Ederson following a mixup between Otamendi and Fabian Delph.

Second-half

City were soon in front yet again, though, as a poor clearance from Romelu Lukaku inside United's box rebounded off the back of Chris Smalling to allow Otamendi to volley home in acrobatic fashion.

And this was how it stayed for the remainder of the matchup, with City's overjoyed fanbase quickly singling out one player for massive praise.

The man in question was David Silva, who's expected technical brilliance and guile was backed by a mean streak throughout the 90 minutes, as the little Spaniard put himself very much in the thick of things versus the likes of Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera:

I fucking love David Silva

— Josh (@JoshCity) December 10, 2017

David Silva undoubtedly one of the Premier League greats

— David (@Davidmonaco10) December 10, 2017

David Silva has been sensational 😍#PFPChallenge

— Ariyo Ose (@Osesax) December 10, 2017

the key factor in Manchester City's success this season on field is David Silva... he's doing remarkably great in a totally new position #MUNMCI

— Luan (@morinaluan) December 10, 2017

There's only one David Silva

— neil bottomley (@nellybotts) December 10, 2017

David Silva 😍

— Grant (@Grantmac8) December 10, 2017

How good a footballer is David Silva ?! - absolute baller

— Stuart Spreadbridge (@spreads70) December 10, 2017

David Silva must have eyes at the back of his head. Spots every single run. #MUNMCI

— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) December 10, 2017

David Silva could find space in that little newsagents inside Bootle Strand. I know that's a little niche but trust me, it's fucking tiny

— Paul_Ed (@eddo75) December 10, 2017

David Silva could find space in that little newsagents inside Bootle Strand. I know that's a little niche but trust me, it's fucking tiny

— Paul_Ed (@eddo75) December 10, 2017

Skinhead David Silva is a cold hearted killer

— BIG NABY (@sinosman) December 10, 2017