"He can still cause us serious problems" - Bernardo Silva urges City to keep an eye on Mappe

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva acknowledged that they have “more options than Pep said”, a 1% that he estimated after the defeat at the Etihad against Real Madrid (2-3), and, despite the difficulty, he showed confidence in turning the tie around.

“I don't know what the exact percentage is, I hope to have a little more than the 1% that Pep said. We know that, when the tie began, there was talk of 50% to 50%. Now, Real Madrid is more of a favourite. We lost at home and that changes things. The job is more difficult at the Bernabeu, but we believe we have more options and that we can make life difficult for Real Madrid, who have many weapons to hurt us”, he analysed in his appearance at the Madrid stadium.

Despite the praise he heaped on his rival, Bernardo Silva sees options to surprise Real Madrid at home. “Never a team is perfect, there are always ways to find weaknesses and there are things they do less well. We have to take the game to the area where we are most comfortable knowing that you are always going to suffer against a team with the players Real Madrid have. You know that, if you play at a very high tempo, they have the ability to transition and, if it's very low, they are comfortable on the field,” he added.

Happy for the good moment of his former Monaco teammate, Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva made it clear that Real Madrid is much more than the French striker, who is on a scoring streak going into the match.

 

February 18, 2025

“He came to fulfill a childhood dream. He is one of the most special players in the world. We will keep an eye on him because he can still cause us serious problems, but Real Madrid have many different weapons and ways to hurt you. You can't just focus on one player when there's Rodrygo, Vinicius or Bellingham. You have to think of everyone and try to avoid the counterattacks that they like to do so much,” he warned.

Finally, he acknowledged that he would take again the penalty he missed in the shootout of the last tie, which was saved by Andriy Lunin. “Of course I would raise my hand again. Only the one who takes it misses. It was frustrating, but I have no regrets.”