20 April 2023 , 07:29
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Bernardo Silva believes Manchester City no longer have to dominate Champions League matches after reaching a third successive semi-final.
The Premier League champions made light work of Bayern Munich, who were tipped to be a difficult opponent. They managed their second-leg impressively following the 3-0 win at the Etihad last week, eventually running out 4-1 winners on aggregate to make the last four.
City struggled under Pep Guardiola in Europe in the early years of his tenure with the Catalan often accused of overthinking the big games as they were knocked out by the likes of Monaco, Tottenham and Lyon. Now, though, the squad look to have cracked it and Bernardo admits they have had to accept periods facing heavy pressure against the top sides.
He told BT Sport: "In the Champions League we learn from our past mistakes and what we understand now is that, before we would always try and dominate the game for 90 minutes, controlling it in their final third. But in this competition against the likes of Bayern Munich, PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool you need to accept that sometimes you have to defend, be consistent, work hard not to give them easy chances. That's what we've been trying to work on in the present because in the past we've had a lot of frustrating nights."
Across the two legs City had less possession than Bayern - a stat that would usually be unheard of for a Guardiola team, who often dominate the ball. Despite that, they managed to contain the threat from the German side, whose goal came from the penalty spot.
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City will now take on Real Madrid in the semi-final once more with the treble very much in their sights. An English club has completed the feat just once but Guardiola's side have put themselves in a position to match Sir Alex Ferguson's iconic achievement with Manchester United in 1999.
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Man City are into another semi-final (Getty Images)Bernardo added: “[We are] very confident and in a very good moment. The best moment of the season for the team. We struggled until the end of February and on the difficult run we had in the past. Winning 10, 15, 20 games in a row and now the team is very consistent in the way we’re playing. We have a chance in every competition and we’re going for that."
City were denied in Europe last season by a miracle Madrid comeback as Los Blancos scored twice in the final two minutes to force extra-time before Karim Benzema bagged the winner as they went on to claim the trophy.
City now have the chance to avenge their loss - a prospect Bernardo is relishing. “We know how hard it is to play Real Madrid in this competition," he said. "We’re going to go for it, definitely. We always go for it, but we feel the team is very confident at the minute.”