Bernardo Silva: "We respect Real Madrid but are not afraid of them!”  

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has claimed that the Citizens are unfazed about facing Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-final despite the latter's record in the competition.  Bernardo Silva confirmed that his team respects Real Madrid a lot before the upcoming confrontation tomorrow, indicating at the same time that he does not fear the royal team. Manchester City will visit Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Champions League competition, in a heavy-caliber match. "We have a lot of respect for them, yes, but not any fear at all," Silva said (via The Daily Mail). "Why should we fear them? We'll try to keep the momentum we've built over two months to arrive very confident to beat them, knowing they won the Champions League last season for a reason." Many believe Real Madrid has an advantage over Manchester City due to their record in the Champions League. Silva, though, reckons the focus should be on the players on the pitch. "It's not about the badge, It's never about the badge," Silva added. "It's about the players that are on the pitch. If Madrid didn't have (Luka) Modric, (Toni) Kroos, Vinicius (Jr), (Karim) Benzema - I could say all of them - they wouldn't win anything because the shirt doesn't do it on its own. "We'd be stupid not to respect them but we have that goal knowing we lost last year in tough circumstances. This time we will try to make it different." "We will have an advantage vs City on Tuesday: our fans at the Bernabeu. We will play 12 vs 11." The La Liga giants beat the Cityzens 6-5 on aggregate in a thrilling tie when the two sides met in the Champions League semi-final last year. They then went on to beat Liverpool 1-0 in the final to secure the trophy.