Bernardo Silva has told his Manchester City team-mates not to blow their big chance of European glory like they did at their first attempt in 2021. Pep Guardiola’s men have earned a second shot to be crowned kings of Europe when they face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on June 10.
And the English champions will travel to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Turkey as overwhelming favourites to lift their first Champions League trophy. But Bernardo, who scored twice in the 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid on Wednesday, has warned his team-mates not to take anything for granted.
“Two years ago, everybody said that we were favourites against Chelsea – and look what happened,” he said. “What we need to be is confident, but very respectful of Inter and try to win the final this time.
“We need to concentrate on a difficult match against an opponent that has knocked out Barcelona, along with many other tough opponents. They have shown a lot of quality in getting to the final, so we have a lot of respect for them.”
City stand on the verge of a historic treble of Champions League, FA Cup and Premier League trophies which has only been landed just once in English football history, by Manchester United in 1999. And Bernardo is desperate not to slip up in pursuit of any piece of silverware between now and the end of the season.
“There are three competitions to play for – and we can still win none, one, two or all three,” he said. “We’ll see if we can lift the Premier League again this Sunday at home with our fans, and from there we have two more finals, which are both very difficult.”
Fellow City star Jack Grealish believes City could be talked about alongside the best teams from the last 100 years judged on their Real Madrid demolition job. But he, too, called on his City team-mates to finish the job against Inter in Istanbul on June 10 in what he hopes will be the last leg of a treble.
“When you’ve been there before and felt the pain of it to come back this year and play the way we did was unbelievable,” he said, referencing the semi-final defeat to Real Madrid in 2022. “You don’t get many teams in world football in the last 100 years that would do that to Real Madrid.
“Inter have a lot of experience, and we know it’s going to be a tough game. Anything can happen in a final but we know how good we are and the confidence and quality that we have.”
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