CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Feyenoord will be no pushovers warns Silva
BERNARDO Silva has told his City team-mates not to underestimate Champions League rivals Feyenoord.
The Blues launch their Euro campaign in Holland tonight.
And summer signing Silva is looking to build on City’s positive start to the season.
But he stressed the point that the Blues cannot afford to be complacent against the Dutch outfit after walloping Liverpool 5-0 on Saturday.
“If they’re in the UCL they are a good team,” he said.
“They have a lot of good players for sure, but in the Champions League, it’s a different competition and we’ll try to do our best to go as far as possible.
“When you’re at a club like City you have to do your best to win all the trophies you compete for. Of course, it’s not easy to win a competition like the Champions League, but if you never try, you’ll never win it.
“It’s a special competition. First you have the group stages, which is a tournament in itself.
“Then, when you pass through the group stage, it’s a completely different competition again, because to play a game at home and away you have to play in a different way than when you’re playing in the group.”
Silva (pictured) is in positive mood heading into tonight’s clash and added: “The thing I learned from last season is that you need a lot of confidence, you need to be at your best and even when you’re at your best, sometimes you lose – but because things are so complicated in the Champions League, you also need to have a bit of luck as well.” THE last time City played in Holland, the cracks between Roberto Mancini and his titlewinning squad were clearly starting to show.
But five years on, as Pep Guardiola prepares to take the Blues back to the Low Countries for their Champion League opener at Feyenoord, they are a more seasoned, battle-hardened outfit.
And anything less than three points against the Dutch champions would be disappointing.
Having won the Premier League in spectacular style, the enigmatic Mancini had set his sights firmly on conquering Europe in the 2012-13 season.
He was given a tough hand in the draw, coming up against Spanish champions Real Madrid, the rising stars of Borussia Dortmund and Dutch champs Ajax, steeped in European pedigree.
A ‘typical’ City defeat in the Bernabeu – after they had led 2-1 with three minutes to go – was followed by a home draw against Dortmund, with Joe Hart’s incredible display staving off a total drubbing.
At least, the City fans thought, a trip to Amsterdam might offer some respite and, probably, a welcome three points.
The travelling Blues partied hard in the hotspots of the city, but the match was a huge come-down.
Samir Nasri fired them ahead, but an Ajax team that included Toby Alderweireld, the inspirational Christian Eriksen and Daley Blind, struck back.
Having conceded an equaliser on the stroke of half-time, the City defence was then rooted to the spot as Niklas Moisander darted past their zonal marking system and rose to head home Eriksen’s corner.
Eriksen finished it off with a third, leaving the Blues to start an inquest which had very different viewpoints.
Mancini, who had tinkered with his formation and tactics throughout, blamed the ‘attitude’ of his players. But Micah Richards claimed the manager’s switch between three and five at the back has caused confusion in the ranks. “I think the players prefer a 4-4-2 but he’s the manager and we’ll do what he says,” said the defender, not convincing anyone that the gaffer still had the backing of the dressing room. That damaging reverse at the Amsterdam ArenA virtually ended the Blues’ hopes of getting out of the group – and they eventually finished bottom, not even reaching the Europa League, after losing all three away games and drawing their three at home. And, while that contributed to Mancini’s demise at the end of the season, it also marked the nadir of City’s European gloom. The squad learned the lesson, and Manuel Pellegrini benefited – the following season they won all three of their away games in the group, including a bold 3-2 victory at Bayern Munich. Under Pellegrini, City had a very good away record in the group stages, losing just two out of six and racking up landmark wins at Roma Stuart Brennan