Bernardo Silva has said Manchester City should not be seen as favourites to win the Champions League after their 2-1 home defeat to Lyon in their opener on Wednesday.
“I think we have to focus on us, especially the first half — we were not at our best,” Silva said on BT Sport after the game. “We were not good enough tonight. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to start this way the competition, but it is what it is and we have to go after the next games.”
Silva was then asked if the result affects the belief that they are expected to win the Champions League this season.
“Well, we’re not favourites,” he said. “I think we have a good team. We’ll try to make better than last season, knowing that a club like Man City tries to win every competition. We’re not favourites, but of course, we’ll do our best to win it.”
Fernandinho could not explain City’s uncharacteristic poor start but said their group, which also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Hoffenheim, was not as easy as some people expected.
“From my point of view, it’s a tough group. I never thought it was going to be easy and Lyon showed that,” Fernandinho told reporters. “We had a first half to forget, with some mistakes by myself, and in the second half, we tried to take over, to recover the result, but it was too late.
“We have to be humble now and go to Hoffenheim to try to win there and the other four games as well.”
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