Bernardo: Players driven to become best of all time
Bernardo Silva says Manchester City’s players are being inspired by the dream of an unprecedented “double treble” and the chance to become arguably the greatest club side of all time.
Having become only the second English club to win the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup last season, City are now trying to carve a unique place in history by repeating the extraordinary feat 12 months on.
City are two points clear at the top of the Premier League with six matches to play. Tonight Real Madrid stand between them and a place in a fourth consecutive Champions League semi-final. On Saturday, they play Chelsea for a place in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Asked if the chance to become perhaps the best club side in history was driving City on, midfielder Bernardo said: “Obviously. It is an inspiration and motivation because we know how well this team has done. This is my seventh season [at City]. We want to create that legacy. We want to win another Premier League to do six in seven years and four in a row.
“We want to win two Champions Leagues in a row. Only [Real] Madrid did three in a row but no one else won consecutive Champions Leagues, so if we can win the two trebles in a row that no one did, that would be a legacy.
“So, that’s definitely motivation, knowing it is very difficult because in one week we could be out of all the competitions, but we are fighting for it and do everything in our power to each day be a step closer to that goal.”
Bernardo said Real would be out for “revenge” after their 4-0 hammering by City in the second leg of their semi-final clash last season.
But manager Pep Guardiola –
who is expected to have Kyle Walker available again after injury – said Carlo Ancelotti’s side held no fear and urged his players not to hold back a week after a dramatic 3-3 draw in their first leg of their quarter-final at the Bernabeu.
“No I don’t fear them,” said the City manager, whose side are unbeaten in 30 home Champions League matches. “I respect them a lot. I’ve faced them many times. But if I say I’m scared of them, I would be false.
“I want to do as well as we can, be ourselves.
If we can’t be, it doesn’t matter. But I’m not scared of them and if they beat me – as has happened many times – we will say congratulations and wish them well.
“We have a game plan, we believe in it and we go – win or lose. After what happened the season before when we were knocked out by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu we wanted to put things right and that performance was also a bit of an apology to our fans for what happened the season before, because we feel we owed them another chance to win the competition.”