Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva hopes Pep Guardiola keeps faith with Erling Haaland against Real Madrid tomorrow night, claiming “big players are there for the big moments”.
The Norway international has not scored in four games – a drought that has lasted over a month – and cut a frustrated figure in Saturday night’s 1-1 draw at West Ham.
That has led to suggestions he could be left out for City’s crunch Champions League round of 16, second leg tie against Madrid but Silva is eager for Guardiola to stick with the ace marksman.
He said: ”We wouldn’t be shocked with anything, because it is not our job to judge the manager’s decision, he gets paid a lot of money to make those decisions.
“We have a big squad, anyone is ready to play. Erling is a massive player for us, very important player, and in the big games you need those players. But we have fantastic players everywhere.
“No-one is irreplaceable. I would obviously prefer to have Erling because when you have Erling on the pitch you are scoring goals, and we need goals tomorrow.
“We’ve played without Erling when he was injured, we’ve dealt with those situations. The big players are there for the big moments.”
It would be a major surprise if Haaland was left out given City have to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit against the 15-time European champions.
“This sport has taught us that a lot of things can happen. Even though the result in Madrid was really bad, we will fight until the end,” added Portugal midfielder Silva.
“The opponent is a very good one. At home, a lot of things can happen. We are going to try create the right atmosphere for that to happen.”
Silva was the only player that had to report to work today with the rest of the squad given additional rest after a hectic period.
“I was the only one who didn’t get a day off,” said Silva with a smile.
“We’ve done it in the past, plenty of times. When we lost games, when we’ve won games, when the manager felt it was best for the team.
“With all the trips we’ve had this week, I think he felt it best for us to sleep better and come back tomorrow stronger and ready for the game.”
Madrid arrived in Manchester this morning boosted by the fact both Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were on the flight.
Neither man is expected to start at the Etihad as they continue their recovery from injury but their mere presence will be a filip for Madrid, who come into the game on the back of a 4-1 win over Elche at the weekend.
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Team news for Manchester City v Real Madrid
It is unlikely Guardiola will go gung-ho although he may opt to recall Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku for their creativity.
Madrid will go with the bulk of the side that beat Elche but Arda Guler, who scored a stunning long-range effort in that game, is set to be included from the start. Dani Carvajal may keep his place at right-back instead of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
David Alaba, Raul Asencio, Dani Ceballos, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo are all sidelined.
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