Bernardo Silva: Man City want titles, not Spurs revenge

Bernardo Silva has rallied his Manchester City team-mates to pour their Champions League heartache into a final push for Premier League glory.

City bowed out of Europe’s top competition on away goals on Wednesday, despite winning 4-3 at home to Tottenham.

The scoreline only told a portion of the incredible drama after Raheem Sterling thought he had completed a match-winning hat-trick in injury time – sparking scenes of bedlam at the Etihad Stadium not seen since Sergio Aguero’s unforgettable title-sealing winner against Queens Park Rangers in 2012.

However, a VAR review showed Aguero had been fractionally offside in the build-up when the ball fell to him after Silva blocked Christian Eriksen’s pass, taking City from ecstasy to agony and leaving their quadruple dreams in tatters.

A similarly unprecedented domestic treble remains in play for the EFL Cup winners and FA Cup finalists but, with Spurs back in Manchester for a third encounter in the space of 11 days on Saturday, Portugal playmaker Silva knows there is no time to wallow.

“We have a game in three days against Tottenham, again here at home,” said the 24-year-old, who was on the scoresheet during an implausible opening 21 minutes, which saw both teams lead and concluded with City 3-2 ahead on the night.

“We need the three points, to win [the Premier League]. Obviously, we are very disappointed but we will have to forget about it and go for the competitions we are still in.

“It is not time for revenge; it is time for another competition, time to keep us alive in the title race.

“We will try to win the game in the same way we did, knowing that we are playing against a very good team. That will make it difficult for us.”

Difficult to describe what happened tonight! Thanks for the amazing atmosphere! We all deserved better… Tonight we feel sad, tomorrow we forget and go 100% for the PL and the FA Cup  pic.twitter.com/GyO9gtJw62

— Bernardo Silva (@BernardoCSilva) April 17, 2019

Liverpool, who enjoyed a contrastingly serene Champions League outing against Porto as City and Spurs produced a battle for the ages, are two points clear at the top of the Premier League but have played a game more than the reigning champions.

Jurgen Klopp’s men appear to have the kinder run-in, with City travelling to Old Trafford for a Manchester derby after completing their Spurs trilogy.

If neither side slips up, Pep Guardiola’s side will prevail by 98 points to 97 in a remarkable title race.

“We know Liverpool are probably winning all their games, so we have to win all our games,” Silva added. “Our focus is to win three points after three points and at the end of it try to celebrate the title.”