(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Mon 25 May 2026 14:40, UK

Tim Sherwood said that if he were manager, he wouldn’t have let Aston Villa players give Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva a guard of honour on Sunday.

The end of the season is always an emotional one for most teams, with players and staff saying farewell, as multiple Premier League legends said goodbye last weekend.

Thankfully for Villa, they had a happy end to the season anyway, recording their first European title since 1982, finishing fourth, but they may still say goodbye to some players who reach the end of their contracts this summer.

Unai Emery recorded his fourth Premier League win over Pep Guardiola as Villa boss on Sunday, gatecrashing the Spaniard’s exit from the club after a 10-year stay at the Etihad Stadium.

However, Villa also showed respect to Silva, who is departing City alongside Guardiola, but former B6 man Sherwood didn’t agree with it.

Tim Sherwood disagrees with Aston Villa’s guard of honour for Bernardo Silva

Villa hadn’t won at the Etihad in the Premier League since 2007 coming into the contest, which makes the 2-1 win just another stamp on Emery’s success with the Villans.

Guardiola and Emery faced off as Man City and Villa bosses on seven occasions in the league, Emery winning four of them, while losing the other three.

However, the City boss wasn’t the only man who got respect from Villa, as Silva was subbed off in the 59th minute to a standing ovation and a guard of honour from both sides as he left the field.

The 31-year-old has spent nearly nine years in Manchester, making 460 appearances and winning six Premier League titles, eight FA Cups and Carabao Cups combined as well as a Champions League trophy, and deserved a show of respect from the Villans.

While speaking on Sky Sports, former Villa boss Sherwood admitted he wasn’t happy when watching Emery’s men line up for Silva’s goodbye during the game.

Sherwood said: “I felt uncomfortable with it, I wouldn’t be happy if I were the manager, and I certainly wouldn’t want my players doing it.

“They showed their respect, and they showed it to an unbelievable servant to the Premier League. I get doing it with Guardiola after the game, but I don’t get doing it during the game.”

It’s just a terrible take that shows why he isn’t managing in the Premier League anymore.

Aston Villa player who looked like prime Silva vs Man City

Ross Barkley was given the nod for the game, and set up Villa’s all-important second goal of the contest to secure a fourth-place finish.

The attacking midfielder had just started six league games heading into the match, but showed that he may still have something to offer Emery next campaign.

Barkley had a 100 per cent passing accuracy compared to Silva’s 50 per cent, and registered his first assist of the season on the final day, looking like the Man City star in his prime.

It’s fair to say that Silva looked past his best against the Villans, but he deserved his moment to be shown respect from the Villa players.