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Bernado Silva on City's recent struggles and Real Madrid
16/03/2026
CFGA, Manchester, UK
16/03/2026
CFGA, Manchester, UK
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00:12I was the only one that didn't get a day off.
00:16As one of the leaders of the squad,
00:18maybe from the outside would be shocked
00:21or before the Champions League match the players are off.
00:24From the inside, how do you see that?
00:27What's the importance of maybe resting the bodies and the minds?
00:32We've done it in the past, plenty of times.
00:35When we lost games, when we won games,
00:38when the manager felt that it was the best for the team.
00:42And with all the trips that we had this week,
00:44I think if he just thought that it would be best
00:46for us to sleep better, to stay at home one more day,
00:50to feed our minds and come back tomorrow stronger
00:55and ready for the game.
00:58Hi, Bernardo.
00:59Pep mentioned the game against Aston Villa
01:02a couple years ago on the final day.
01:04You were obviously involved in that.
01:05Is that something you could sort of call upon
01:08in the dressing room before and tell the other guys about?
01:12Well, this sport has taught us that
01:16a lot of things can happen in a football game
01:19and even though the result in Madrid was really bad.
01:26We will fight.
01:27We will for sure fight until the end
01:29knowing that it's going to be tough.
01:31The opponent is a very good one.
01:34The first result was not good.
01:37At home, a lot of things can happen,
01:39especially at home here at Etihad.
01:42And we're going to try and create the right atmosphere
01:45for that to happen.
01:48Bernardo, after the match last Wednesday,
01:52you all looked very kind of down, understandably.
01:54How we've solved that belief back into the players
01:57that you can do this and you can create
01:59one of those memorable nights, is it?
02:03Well, it's never easy, especially when it's just a week,
02:06but usually after a big defeat, on the day,
02:11you feel like everything is very dark,
02:13then it gets brighter and brighter and brighter.
02:16And you arrive the day before the game,
02:19and the atmosphere, even though this week
02:23was a really bad one for us,
02:27we know what this team is capable of.
02:31The problem that we lacked this season was the consistency,
02:36because the level we know that we can reach that level.
02:38The problem that we had was that we weren't able
02:41to maintain that level for the right amount of games.
02:47So, if we are on it tomorrow, we know that it's possible.
02:54You can obviously score the goals at any point in the game,
02:58Bernardo, but how important it will be to score early
03:02to get the team or have the crowd up
03:04if you are to pull it off?
03:07It would be very important, obviously.
03:09The earlier the better.
03:12I would also say that...
03:16No matter what,
03:18it can still happen,
03:20because I don't know what it was that spoke about the Aston Villa again.
03:26We know that in football,
03:29and especially our team at home,
03:31we are capable of creating a lot of chances
03:34in a period of 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes.
03:37Obviously, if we score early, it would be better.
03:41Knowing that, we also need to defend well,
03:43because we cannot concede a goal.
03:44Otherwise, if we concede, the tie is over.
03:47But we are going to obviously take some risks and try to go for it.
03:53Bernardo, just in terms of not getting to the levels as consistently as you've done in the past,
04:00what is the reason for that?
04:03But obviously, the team is evolving.
04:05There's been a lot of change over the last 18 months.
04:08Some of you have won a lot of trophies.
04:10Others have not won any.
04:11What is the reason that you can't just keep getting to the levels over and over again?
04:20I think the obvious answer is that this is a transition,
04:26because if you look not long ago,
04:28if you look at the Champions League final when we won the treble,
04:31if you look at that team and you look at the team now,
04:37maybe four or five players are left in two years and a half,
04:41to only have four or five or six players left,
04:44it's a lot of change.
04:45So, to have that many change in a football club is never easy,
04:49because it's not about the talent or the quality of the players,
04:52it's about the players getting to know each other better,
04:55knowing when they play together what works better,
05:00and obviously getting the experience and the knowledge
05:03to deal especially with the bad moments.
05:07As I said, I don't know the right answer.
05:12No one knows.
05:12You might have your opinion.
05:14The manager might have his opinion.
05:16I might have my own opinion.
05:17I do believe that having so many different players
05:22in such a short term doesn't help,
05:25because from my experience I've been here nine years,
05:30three years ago when I played with Gundogan,
05:33with Kevin, with Rodri, or with Kyle,
05:37because we played together so many years,
05:39we knew exactly what each other player wanted
05:43and the qualities of the other guy,
05:46the guy next to you.
05:47Right now, these young guys,
05:50they need time to adapt, playing with each other,
05:53playing together,
05:55and I think that plays obviously a major part.
05:57No excuses because we should have done much better
06:01in some moments this season, obviously,
06:04but I do think that plays a major part.
06:08Can I tell you quickly?
06:09Did you mean that goal on Saturday?
06:11No.
06:14I don't want to lie to you, no.
06:15I wanted to go to Worthing Island.
06:18I know it didn't go well in Madrid last week,
06:21but it seems like you were on the front foot
06:23for the first 30 minutes,
06:24you were the better team,
06:24you had a few chances,
06:25I think you had a chance near the box.
06:26Did you see enough in that first 30 minutes
06:28to suggest that Madrid are vulnerable enough
06:31to concede the goals that you will need to go through tomorrow?
06:34I wouldn't call them vulnerable,
06:36they beat us 3-0,
06:39so I wouldn't use that word right now.
06:43When I got home I was really frustrated,
06:45I wanted to watch the game,
06:48and I know that this might look a bit stupid,
06:52what I'm about to say,
06:53but when I watch back,
06:53I don't see a reason for us to be losing 3-0
06:57that game at half time.
07:01And the result was much worse than the performance,
07:04in my opinion,
07:05obviously in football that counts zero,
07:07that counts for nothing.
07:08A lot of games that we were worse than our opponents
07:11and we also beat them,
07:12or we were much better and we didn't,
07:13football is like that.
07:14But the reality is that the performance,
07:18especially the first half,
07:20because the second half then the emotions
07:21and you go on half time and everything looks like
07:26it's really bad when it's not that bad,
07:30and you lose a bit your minds.
07:33I know, as I said in the beginning,
07:36it might sound really stupid saying this,
07:38I don't think the performance was that bad.
07:41Hi, Bernardo.
07:42Just away from this game for a second,
07:44I'm sure you'll have seen it like we all have,
07:46the huddle the Chelsea players did with the referee.
07:49I just want to put you on that as a fellow
07:52professional in the Premier League and a club captain.
07:55I saw a picture,
07:57I don't know the context,
07:58I don't know if they were making a speech or something,
08:01I have no clue,
08:03but it looked funny,
08:05but I don't know,
08:07I don't know what that was about.
08:09It's just funny, you know?
08:11On a more serious note then,
08:13on the messaging that a club captain can give to his players,
08:16what will you be saying to your teammates ahead of this game?
08:21For sure that, what I said earlier,
08:25if you believe that in this game,
08:29the little details that make a lot of difference in football
08:33will go to our side,
08:36will be in our favor.
08:38If you look at the game in Madrid specifically,
08:42even with a terrible performance,
08:44for example,
08:45when the midfielder from Madrid tries to play out from the back
08:48and Nico O'Reilly almost steals the ball
08:50and Courtois with the reflexes,
08:52he makes that sense.
08:53Those little things,
08:54if that ball goes in,
08:55it's a 3-1,
08:56it's different.
08:57And we have to believe that tomorrow,
09:00when Erling has a chance,
09:02he will score that ball
09:03and the ball will not hit the post or the bar.
09:07And when they have a chance,
09:08because they will run,
09:09they have an unbelievable quality
09:11and players to run and to create chances.
09:14And when they have their chances,
09:15we have to believe that our defenders will block
09:18or that our keeper will save.
09:20And tomorrow it will have to be our day.
09:22With that kind of belief,
09:24maybe it's going to be possible, yeah.
09:28Obviously, last year,
09:30you went out to Real Madrid
09:31and I think most people would say
09:32you're far the better team
09:34at the Etihad,
09:35obviously,
09:36when they have penalties.
09:38Yeah.
09:40The manager was talking about the need
09:42for a perfect performance,
09:44but is the reality tomorrow as well
09:46is that you need to be lucky,
09:47as well,
09:48that you need a lot of luck on your side,
09:51as well as the quality performance.
09:59I don't want to...
10:00It's difficult for me to answer that question
10:02because I don't believe a lot in luck,
10:04so I believe a lot,
10:06but the reason why
10:09throughout the years
10:12we didn't manage to be more successful
10:14in this competition,
10:15maybe a little bit of luck,
10:19but it's never just luck.
10:20It's the little details
10:22that you need to get better.
10:23And the Champions League is a competition.
10:26It's a different competition.
10:28In a league,
10:29the best team wins 95% of the time.
10:32The Champions League,
10:33the best team,
10:34not necessarily wins.
10:37It's a more...
10:38It's a competition about emotions,
10:40how you deal with your emotions.
10:43The little details,
10:45mainly in the boxes,
10:46how do you defend the action?
10:47How do you block that shot?
10:49How do you score your chances?
10:51And that's not luck.
10:52You need to be there.
10:53You need to do well in those actions.
10:56I do believe that we need to do really well
10:58in those little details.
11:00And Madrid is a very strong team.
11:03Leonardo,
11:04you were talking about
11:06looking back to the last game
11:09or the game last week
11:10in the first 20 minutes
11:11obviously there were all those crosses
11:12come across the box
11:13and no one's put in.
11:16It was sort of similar at West Ham
11:18on Saturday in the second half.
11:20What do you need to do as players
11:22to be able to have a little bit more cohesion
11:25in the final third?
11:25Exactly.
11:26Let's go back to what you were saying
11:27about the transition
11:29and people playing each other so much.
11:33As I said, you talk about luck
11:35and the crosses.
11:38For the ball to win,
11:39you need to make the right movement.
11:41You need to have a player
11:43that arrives on the...
11:44on the...
11:45you need to have a player
11:47for tapping on the far post,
11:48which scored a lot of goals.
11:51The classic one from Kevin Ball
11:54across the goal.
11:55Someone...
11:55either Jain Sterling or Erling
11:58or Erling
11:58or Little Sané
11:59or Agüero
12:00or Agüero
12:01always a small tap in
12:02at the far post.
12:03Those goals look easy
12:05but you need to make that movement
12:06to score those goals.
12:07So if you look, yeah,
12:08we have 10 crosses
12:09but if no one does that movement,
12:12it's...
12:12there's no point.
12:15So...
12:15it's not luck.
12:16It's...
12:16it's...
12:16it's us needing to get better,
12:17needing to know each other better
12:20to...
12:21because if you put a player
12:22on the near post,
12:24if you put one
12:25in the penalty spot
12:26and one in the...
12:27attacking the far post
12:28for that...
12:29for that tapping
12:29that I was saying,
12:31that I was saying,
12:33if you...
12:33if you start putting more numbers
12:34in the box,
12:35if you start arriving
12:36with better movements,
12:37you will...
12:37you will score those chances
12:46in the last 14 games
12:49and two of those were penalties.
12:50Would you personally be shocked
12:51if Pep left him out tomorrow evening?
12:54And do you think
12:55the dressing room would be shocked
12:56at that decision
12:56if Pep decides to go
12:57in a different way
12:58just for this game?
13:00We wouldn't be shocked
13:02with anything
13:03because it's not our job
13:04to...
13:05to judge the manager's decision.
13:09He gets paid a lot of money
13:10to make it
13:11to make those decisions
13:12and for us as players
13:13our job is to be ready.
13:14And we have a big squad
13:16if anyone is ready to play.
13:17Obviously, Erling is a massive player
13:19for us,
13:19a very important player for us.
13:22And in the big games
13:25he needs players,
13:25but...
13:25we have fantastic players everywhere
13:27and no one is irreplaceable.
13:29So psychologically
13:30it wouldn't be a difficult thing
13:33to deal with
13:33a blow if you look around the dressing room
13:35and think, oh wait a minute,
13:36Erling's not starting against
13:37the Amateur,
13:38and we need to
13:39basically score four goals.
13:41I would obviously prefer
13:43to have Erling
13:43because he's someone that
13:47when you have Erling
13:48on the pitch you're closer
13:48to scoring goals
13:49and you need goals tomorrow.
13:52We've played throughout the years,
13:53we've played without Erling
13:55when he was injured,
13:56without Kevin
13:57when he was injured
13:58for a long time.
14:02We've dealt with those situations.
14:04The big players
14:05are there for the big moments
14:07and we definitely need them.
14:08But look, Madrid,
14:11if that was an excuse,
14:12Madrid,
14:12without Mbappé,
14:13Bellingham,
14:14Rodrigo,
14:16Rodrigo,
14:16that cannot be an excuse.
14:17Bellingham,
14:19no can be an excuse.
14:23Is it funny?
14:25Do you agree
14:26with everything
14:27that Manchester needs?
14:29You need to have
14:31a Real Madrid style night
14:32and how do you feel
14:34that you can make that happen?
14:37It's not a Real Madrid night.
14:39I think we need to have
14:40a Manchester City night
14:42because we've also had
14:44many of those
14:47where many people
14:48have been believed
14:49and things have gone out very well.
14:52I've been intrigued in this competition
14:55and had many memorable nights
14:56in the last...
14:57they've always done it,
15:00particularly in the last few years.
15:01What we want
15:03is to create an atmosphere
15:06of belief
15:08in the stadium
15:10and the pace of game
15:12that we want to inject into it.
15:15And as early as possible
15:17not to suffer attacks
15:19to score a goal,
15:22with one goal
15:23the atmosphere of the whole ground
15:24will change.
15:24Hello, Bernardo.
15:26Here I am for the
15:28Desmarque of Mediaset.
15:30You don't believe in that.
15:32You don't believe in that.
15:36You think if Kylian Mbappé
15:36is in the team?
15:39Is that bad luck
15:40if he starts tomorrow?
15:41It's difficult to say that
15:43because many people said
15:44that Madrid
15:46didn't have a chance
15:48without Madrid
15:48or Bellini and Mbappé
15:50and they beat us 3-0.
15:51What can I say?
15:53It's difficult to say
15:54because many people said
15:54maybe it's luck,
15:56maybe it's bad luck,
15:56but we don't.
15:57What we need to focus on
16:00is our work.
16:03What does it mean?
16:05But we're prepared
16:05to be us,
16:05to be Manchester City,
16:07to be able to create
16:10an atmosphere
16:12as favorable
16:13so that all the players,
16:16all the people in this stadium
16:17believe that it's possible
16:20is going to be a difficult night,
16:23of course.
16:24but we're going to try
16:25and make it
16:25a joyous occasion for us.
16:28And in terms of Real Madrid
16:28we can't control anything
16:29that they do.
16:30Bernardo,
16:31are you a sport
16:33thinking about those fine details?
16:35Do you think one of those fine details
16:37in terms of your options
16:38of going through
16:40would mean
16:41that you have to score?
16:45Do you feel that need
16:45to score really,
16:47to pressure them?
16:48Of course,
16:48it would help us.
16:50As quickly as possible
16:53it would be better,
16:54but in football,
16:54look,
16:564-5 years ago,
16:57I remember,
16:59we were losing
17:01against Ramirez,
17:02they scored two goals
17:03in the 93rd minute,
17:05so in football,
17:06we had four or five years ago,
17:10we lost three
17:11of four or five,
17:13we were losing
17:14a year ago,
17:15we lost three goals,
17:16and then in ten minutes
17:17we scored three goals.
17:18it's better,
17:21to score as quickly as possible,
17:23but in football,
17:23many things can happen.
17:25So,
17:26we need to not lose our heads,
17:28stay within the game,
17:30and try to create,
17:34as I said,
17:35this atmosphere
17:36whereby
17:36everybody believes
17:39that it's possible.
17:40Thank you everyone, thank you.
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