Bernardo Silva praised City’s performance in the 5-2 win over Juventus at the FIFA Club World Cup as our best performance in the competition so far.
Pep Guardiola’s men beat Wydad AC 2-0 and beat Al-Ain 6-0 in our first two games, opening a quiet advantage at nine minutes in Orlando with a goal from Jeremy Doku, before Teun Koopmeiners tie two minutes later to Juventus.
Pierre Kalulu scored against his own goal to put us in front again, before new goals by Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Savinho, followed by a goal of consolation by Dusan Vlahovic. The victory leads us to the round of 16 as group G winners, scoring 13 goals and conceding only two.
“We are very happy with what we did today,” said Bernardo Silva, radiant, after the game. “Against a state -of -the -art team, we were able to control the game and maintain possession of the ball.”
“Apart from the little mistakes we made individually, it was probably our best performance in this tournament. We ranked first in the group and we are very happy.”
“It’s just another victory. It’s an important victory because it classifies us first. I don’t know if it’s a remarkable victory or not. It’s three points. We’re happy to be in the United States and for qualifying for the round of 16.”
“We are in this tournament to win and we are a step closer to this goal. And now let’s watch the games to see who will be our next opponent.”
“We have a big cast, especially in this tournament and, I hope, for the season. The impact these players had was huge. Once again, the players who left the bench helped us a lot. We need everyone to succeed.”
The victory allowed Spanish midfielder Rodrigo to start for the city for the first time since last September after his injury to the previous cruciate ligament.
The Golden Ball winner entered a reserve in all our previous victories in the group stage against Wydad AC and Al Ain, and Bernardo emphasized the importance of having him back to the team before the round of 16.
“I don’t need to talk about Rodrigo. His career speaks for herself,” he said. “He is very important to us.”
“I hope it enhances your physical form more and more to go back and be in your best way, because we need it a lot, obviously.”
“It’s okay (leading the group), but it doesn’t matter much, because now it’s killing or dying.”
“We have to be ready for this next phase of important games. Let’s prepare well.”
