CITY SPECIAL Rare week off Ambition for City is same as PSG, says Bernardo could be the last for Blues
CITY forward Bernardo Silva has outlined his Champions League ambitions, and compared them to those of Paris Saint-Germain.
Bernardo is enjoying a fine season at City, having already won the Carabao Cup and leading a tight title race in the Premier League.
City are in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and go into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Schalke with a 3-2 lead.
Bernardo says there is a desire at the club to win the competition and establish themselves among the European elite, ambitions similar to PSG’s, who are also searching for their first Champions League title.
He told Canal Football Club: “I think that in the fans, there is more pressure to win the Premier League, after that, the club is a little like PSG.
“The Champions League, the club has never won and there is this desire between everyone to try to do something because it’s the best competition in Europe so of course we want to try to go as far as possible.
“But we know it’s not easy because in Europe we play against Barca, Real, Bayern, Juve, Atletico, PSG, English teams too.”
Bernardo also praised PSG striker Kylian Mbappe, claiming his former Monaco teammate can go on to become the best player in the world.
He said: “Mbappe surprises me? Honestly no. From the first training, I remember talking to Joao Moutinho and wondering who this little boy is. We knew he was a special player.
“I already told him, he can do what he wants in football for 10-15 years. He can still win many titles, the Ballon d’Or.” IT’S going to be an unusual feeling for those City players this week as tonight comes around – and they aren’t preparing for a game.
The past three months have been a relentless slog for the Blues. This is only their third free midweek since the end of November and the 1-0 win at Bournemouth was their 27th game in just 99 days.
It’s been non-stop for Pep Guardiola and his players. They already have one trophy to show for the hard work. If come the end of the season they’ve added to that haul with a combination of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup then it will be a season to celebrate for City, even if the players are too exhausted to party.
They might be advised to make the most of this free week as well. If the rest of the season goes to plan then City won’t have another break – aside from the international week coming up – between now and the end of the Premier League season on May 12.
At the moment they are due a break between the trip to Fulham on March 30 and the home game with Cardiff the week after. But that is the weekend of the FA Cup semifinals and the only option may be for City to bring the game with the Bluebirds forward if they do see off Swansea in the quarter-finals.
Guardiola has given his players a couple of days off early in the week to rest tired limbs. It was put to him last week that he might allow them three or four days off, but that was ‘too much,’ according to the Catalan.
He’ll be loathe to put his players through too much work however, considering the injuries that have built up in recent weeks. With Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho both out until the end of March at the earliest and the fitness of Benjamin Mendy remaining something of a mystery, Guardiola didn’t need to see Kevin de Bruyne and John Stones limping out of the win at Bournemouth. De Bruyne’s injury plagued season continued with a hamstring problem, although the withdrawal of Stones was more of a precaution as he continues to struggle with a groin problem. When he discussed De Bruyne’s latest injury after the game on the south coast Guardiola identified the hectic schedule as an issue. If City continue to fight on three fronts until the end of the season it will remain as punishing, which is why this next week is going to be essential in allowing muscles the chance to rest and recover. “Kevin is his hamstring,” said Guardiola. “It’s normal. We played 25 games in 93 days I think. “It means every three days and a little bit more we play one game so it’s a physiological issue. We demand these guys play that way every three days when the body is not always recovered.