BERNARDO SILVA admits playing at an echoey Etihad means Manchester City’s superstars have nowhere to hide.
City aim to make it a restart two from two in their home clash with Burnley, after an impressive three-goal romp against Arsenal on Wednesday.
Bernardo Silva says there’s nowhere to hide from Pep Guardiola at the empty Etihad
Yet although the dream of a title treble is over, standards will remain as high as ever… because they now have no excuse when Pep Guardiola is bellowing from the touchline.
Jack-in-the-box boss Guardiola constantly gives his stars an ear-bashing in his demands for perfection, yet in a ground full of fans, they can always cock a deaf ‘un. Well not any more.
Bernardo revealed: “When you are playing with 50,000 fans, you can pretend you haven’t heard what the manager is saying to you.
“Now it’s impossible. It was weird because the only thing you could hear was what Pep was shouting. You could hear every word.”
For Guardiola, nothing but the best will ever do, even if the Premier League crown City have worn for the past two years is heading to Liverpool for the first time ever.
Not that City are exactly short of things to play for, with the Champions League and FA Cup still on the agenda.
While lifting Europe’s premier prize for the first time would be massive for everyone at the club, for Silva it would even more – because the final is scheduled for Lisbon.
Silva, 25, was born there, and spent six weeks of the lockdown back at his parents’ house in the countryside on the outskirts.
And after missing out on Portugal’s 2016 Euro triumph through injury, he is desperate to lift the Champions League in his home city in August.
He added: “For me personally, it is an extra motivation to try and do well in the Champions League. It is a special competition and will be a unique event played in my home city.
“It’s a big chance to win the biggest competition in the place where I was born and grew up. It would be so, so special – it would mean a lot.
“We all know what the Champions League means. This club has never won it, I have never won it, most of the players haven’t won it…our goal is to really go for it.”
When European battle does begin again, City are as good as in the last eight, after a Kevin De Bruyne inspired 2-1 win at Real Madrid in the last 16 first leg before lockdown.
City’s brilliant Belgian has been the leading man in their all-star cast yet again, and Silva insists De Bruyne is the Player of the Year, even though the title is set for Anfield.
That lack of recognition has become a sore point, as despite four titles in ten years, none of their stars has ever won the PFA award, even though Raheem Sterling won the FWA prize a year ago.
He added: “I can’t understand it. Kevin should have won it two years ago, because he was clearly the best player in the league that season.
“People vote for it so it is a fair process, but I can’t understand why City players don’t get the recognition that they deserve.
“Kevin has been outstanding – he isn’t just one of the best players in the Premier League, he is one of the top three players in the world.
“It’s weird that over the three seasons I have been here, our players haven’t got the recognition they deserved.
“The team titles are the important ones, that’s what we are focused on – but we do talk about it because it is always nice to see individual players honoured.”
Meanwhile, Scott Carson is ready to grab a new contract to give Pep Guardiola extra cover.
The veteran keeper, 34, is part of the Manchester City squad and they want him to carry on in the emergency standby role.
City will look to shift Kosovo No1 Arijanet Muric out on loan again after a disastrous temporary spell at Nottingham Forest that was ended before the restart.
*Manchester City launched Cityzens Giving for Recovery this week, with Etihad donating the front of shirt space to promote the campaign.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
