Bernardo Silva has opened up on Manchester City’s Champions League ambitions, as well as their recent shortcomings in Europe's elite club competition.
The Portuguese midfielder recently sat down for an extensive interview with ESPN to discuss the new season and all of the challenges it may bring.
One such challenge has been a recurring one in recent reasons, the Champions League - a tournament which Bernardo Silva maintains is a big goal for Manchester City, as well as a source of disappointment for fans and players alike.
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“It's a big goal for the club, for the players, because all of us, we have never won that competition, but we've won everything else."
Silva continued, "The levels of disappointment in that competition over the past few years have been quite high.”
In recent seasons, the Blues have come very close to being crowned European champions, but in each season they have been subject to a late stage knock-out.
The 28 year-old attributes these exits to a drop in attention which, even if only for a few minutes, can change the course of the game.
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“You need to be always on high alert because if you drop your concentration levels for a few minutes, you're gone.
“That's what happened against Tottenham a few years ago and that's what happened last season against (Real) Madrid away.
"We have to improve on that," he explained.
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The two matches which Bernardo Silva mentioned have left a mark on him, explaining that Manchester City’s exit to Tottenham in 2019 messed up the team’s end-of-season celebrations that year, despite winning every domestic competition.
“You're never completely over it,” said Silva.
"We won the league that season and won four trophies overall - we also won the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and the Community Shield.
"But at the end of the season, it still felt like something was wrong because of that game.”
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The more recent blunder against Real Madrid was a tough pill for the Portuguese midfielder to swallow, given that he felt that the Blues were the better team over the course of two-legs.
“Knowing that we were better than Madrid in both games, knowing that over 180 minutes, we were better than them - or probably 175 minutes - and we were still going out?
"It was tough,” said Bernardo Silva.
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One thing which he does note is that just as you can be out of a game within minutes, you can be back in it within the same span, as the Cityzens proved against Aston Villa.
“For example, at the other end you have the game against Aston Villa on the last day of the Premier League.
"The game and the title were gone, but in five minutes we turned it around and won the Premier League."
It is those emotions that the Portuguese midfielder plays for, even though it can be good at times and bad at others.
“These are the moments you want to live in football, the high emotions.
"Sometimes you're up here and sometimes you're down there,” explained Silva.
“These are the memories you will remember.”
Topics: Bernardo Silva, Manchester City, Premier League, Champions League, Football
Declan Harris