Bernardo Silva has reiterated City’s determination and desire to strive for silverware following the disappointing 4-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Sporting CP.
Pep Guardiola’s men started well in Lisbon, with Phil Foden powering us ahead, but the hosts drew level before the interval through Viktor Gyokeres.
Maximiliano Araujo struck the Portuguese champions ahead seconds after the interval, before Gyokeres slotted in two penalties, as City conceded four times in the Champions League for the first time since 2016.
The defeat leaves City in sixth place in the league phase of the competition, with seven points from four matches, with a host of teams still to play on Wednesday evening.
Bernardo, who captained the side for 77 minutes at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, recognised the need for improvement, but believes the team are still in an adequate position to fight for titles.
“The good thing is that even though we lost these three games, we’re still in good positions, especially in the Premier League,” he declared.
“In the Champions League we haven’t lost anything. Even after losing three games we’re still in the main competitions and fighting for everything.
“We need to do better. Our injured players need to come back because we need them. It’s just not good enough at the minute.
“It’s a weird feeling because I actually thought that we started well, we were controlling the game and creating chances. Then out of nowhere we went into half-time at 1-1.
“But we knew how strong they were on the counter if we lost easy balls, how strong and quick they were in creating those chances. In the beginning of the second half we gave them too many opportunities to be there and to score goals.”
The midfielder is eager for the squad to analyse recent displays and work on correcting mistakes that have been made, and is expecting a swift response to the dissatisfying results against Tottenham, Bournemouth and now Sporting.
“Even when we play well we don’t score out chances, and we concede too easily,” he said.
“Definitely we need to look inside and check what we’re not doing well and start being better very quickly otherwise it will be difficult to come back from these losses.
“It’s football. It’s difficult to find reasons for what is happening to us right now.”
