David Silva is hoping Manchester City steer clear of La Liga sides in Monday’s Champions League draw, adding “the later you play a Spanish team, the better”.
An impressive 2-0 win at Roma on Wednesday saw City avoid a third group-stage elimination in four years, as the team finished second behind Bayern Munich in Group E, but the team will now be drawn against a seeded team in the round of 16.
City has reached the knockout stages of the Champions League just once, being eliminated by Barcelona last season, and Silva is keen to avoid facing the Catalan side again or 2014 winners Real Madrid and beaten finalists Atletico Madrid.
“Well, I prefer anyone else. I don’t want any one of them. The later you play a Spanish team, the better, no?” Silva told reporters.
“They’re all that good that, if you get one, you may as well get one of the others. It’d be a difficult draw. Every team that gets through now, they’re difficult. No matter who we get, we have to be 100%, and have to get a little luck too.”
Silva admits City has struggled in Europe since qualifying for the Champions League on a regular basis but is confident the squad’s gradual improvement will see them win the competition at some stage in the future.
He added: “Well, we have to keep getting better. We’ve come through a very difficult group, a very difficult game and I believe in the team. The last few weeks, after the win over Bayern, I think that match gave us a lot of life.
“The team got a lot better, got a lot of confidence and we’ve got to keep getting better. Any team left can win the Champions League. That’s why they’re here. It’s a long and difficult road.”
The post Silva: Man City must avoid Barca, R’Madrid, Atletico appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.
An impressive 2-0 win at Roma on Wednesday saw City avoid a third group-stage elimination in four years, as the team finished second behind Bayern Munich in Group E, but the team will now be drawn against a seeded team in the round of 16.
City has reached the knockout stages of the Champions League just once, being eliminated by Barcelona last season, and Silva is keen to avoid facing the Catalan side again or 2014 winners Real Madrid and beaten finalists Atletico Madrid.
“Well, I prefer anyone else. I don’t want any one of them. The later you play a Spanish team, the better, no?” Silva told reporters.
“They’re all that good that, if you get one, you may as well get one of the others. It’d be a difficult draw. Every team that gets through now, they’re difficult. No matter who we get, we have to be 100%, and have to get a little luck too.”
Silva admits City has struggled in Europe since qualifying for the Champions League on a regular basis but is confident the squad’s gradual improvement will see them win the competition at some stage in the future.
He added: “Well, we have to keep getting better. We’ve come through a very difficult group, a very difficult game and I believe in the team. The last few weeks, after the win over Bayern, I think that match gave us a lot of life.
“The team got a lot better, got a lot of confidence and we’ve got to keep getting better. Any team left can win the Champions League. That’s why they’re here. It’s a long and difficult road.”
The post Silva: Man City must avoid Barca, R’Madrid, Atletico appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.
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