Ahead of their Tuesday night UEFA Champions League semifinal match, Bernardo Silva claims Manchester City “do not fear” Real Madrid.
This week, after facing Los Blancos in the semifinals of the previous season, City and Real Madrid are prepared to resume their Champions League rivalry. At the Santiago Bernabeu, three injury-time goals from Rodrygo and Karim Benzema gave Pep Guardiola’s team the edge in that match, which they ultimately lost.
In a thrilling first leg at the Etihad Stadium, City won 4-3, and they maintained that lead until the very end of the match in Madrid, thanks to a spectacular double goal from Rodrygo that sent the match into overtime.
Then, Benzema successfully converted a penalty to secure Real Madrid’s spot in the championship game against Liverpool, which they would win due to Vinicius Junior.
In spite of last season’s heartbreak, Silva, who is being watched by Real’s rivals Barcelona, has thought back on the loss one year later. However, he is certain that City do not fear their famed opponents.
The 28-year-old stated, “We have a lot of respect for them, definitely, but no fear at all. Why is there a need for fear? As we know they won the Champions League last season for a cause, we’ll aim to maintain the momentum we’ve developed over the past two months to arrive quite confident to defeat them.
“The badge is never the focus of the situation. On the field, there are players who matter. Madrid wouldn’t be successful without [Luka] Modric, [Toni] Kroos, Vinicius, and Benzema — I could name all of them — because the jersey doesn’t win matches by itself. We’d be foolish to not appreciate them, but we still have that objective in mind despite the fact that we struggled to win the previous year.
“This time, we’re going to try to do it differently.”
Being unbeaten for 20 games in all competitions and having won their last 10 Premier League games, the Citizens enter the match as one of the most in-form teams in Europe.