THE NOTEBOOK: Man City growing confident Bernardo Silva will sign new contract, but Aymeric Laporte looks on his way out despite being in the squad

Manchester City finally defeated Sevilla on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday when Nemanja Gudelj hit his crucial penalty against the crossbar in Athens.

Youssef En-Nesyri’s header in the first half gave the winners of the Europa League the lead.

But Cole Palmer’s own header in the second half equalized Pep Guardiola’s side and forced the European season founder to a penalty shootout.

The first eight hits were converted, so when Kyle Walker scored his, Gudelj needed to score to keep the tie alive – and he missed by the narrowest of margins.

Here are a few JACK GAUGHAN‘s more unusual topics of conversation from Manchester City 1-1 Sevilla (5-4 pins):

City’s Silva liner

At Manchester City, confidence is growing that Bernardo Silva will soon sign a new contract, ending fears about his near future at the Etihad Stadium. Silva was also the subject of an offer from the Saudi Pro League, although his recent desire to leave was motivated by a desire to play closer to his home in Lisbon.

A breakthrough in negotiations would have happened last week and City could not afford to lose Silva. City values ​​him at £100 million and it will be interesting to see if there is a release clause in this deal.

Everything changes now that Laporte looks ready for Saudi

Things would always change for City after the Champions League win that took them to this stage and Wednesday showed another big name on their way out.

City accepted an undisclosed bid from Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr for Aymeric Laporte, who looks set to follow both Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez out the door, even if he remained in the side for the Super Cup final.

Laporte, part of the group that won all five of City’s Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola, saw his starts severely limited last season. Al-Nassr has yet to finalize personal terms.

City continue to work out deals for Lucas Paqueta and Jeremy Doku, those moves now depending on the clubs agreeing fees as Guardiola revamps his squad.

Eagle-eyed supporters will have noticed that Ruben Dias trained on the eve of this final despite not being mentioned in the tour group. The centre-back suffered a concussion last Wednesday and the FA’s protocols prescribe a seven-day step-by-step guide to reintroducing players to contact training. Dias did not head a ball in that session.

The Portuguese completed the warm-up and even made it to the bench, but would never appear. He will be available for Newcastle on Saturday.

Akanji struggles in the role of Stone

This provided proof, if need be, of how crucial John Stones are to City these days. His role is specialized, he acts as a central defender and midfielder at the same time and you don’t learn that overnight. Manuel Akanji is not a natural talent and it showed. City weren’t as fast and slick in their build-up without the Stones.

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