Pep Guardiola may have distanced himself from talk of Manchester City completing an historic ‘double treble’ but midfielder Bernardo Silva was happy to discuss repeating last season’s achievements, describing it as an “inspiration and motivation”.
Guardiola feels it is too early to talk about City defending their Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles. Silva, however, was a little more forthcoming ahead of City’s quarter-final, second leg against Real Madrid at the Etihad tomorrow night.
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Asked about the ‘double treble’, the Portugal midfielder said: “Obviously, it is an inspiration and motivation.
“We want to create the legacy. We want four Premier Leagues in a row. We want the Champions League twice in a row and two Trebles in a row.
“In one week we could be out of all the competitions. But we are fighting.”
City moved to the top of the Premier League at the weekend while they face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.
Before that, they take on a Madrid side with whom they shared a pulsating 3-3 draw last week. City beat Madrid at the semi-final stage last season, hammering them 4-0 in Manchester, and Silva expects Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be out for revenge.
“Two different seasons and in football it never happens the same game,” he added.
“I feel Real Madrid are stronger this season than they were last season. That was my feeling when we played them at the Bernabeu.
“For sure they want a bit of revenge for that result [last season] as well.
“Now this season it’s a different game for sure, different teams. We have signings, they have signings and also players that left.
“Let’s see what happens tomorrow, but we are very confident because we play at home knowing we play against the kings of the competition. We have respect for Real Madrid and know how difficult it is going to be.”
All three of @BernardoCSilva‘s goals against Real Madrid at the Etihad! 💫👇 pic.twitter.com/zoShKY3Bv6
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 16, 2024
Silva is likely to come up against Madrid’s veteran midfield duo of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric tomorrow night and the 29-year-old is a huge fan of the pair.
He said: “Definitely they are inspirations and role models for me personally because they play more or less in the position I play. It’s their consistency. They have been doing this for 15 years, Modric even longer.
“After everything they have achieved they keep going and they are an example for all the kids who are starting to play football to see how they conduct themselves on the pitch. They never think about themselves, they think about the team. Especially with the decisions they make.”
