Raphinha scores hat-trick in 100th appearance for Barca
Brazilian winger Raphinha celebrated his 100th appearance for FC Barcelona with a hat-trick goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
Manchester City very nearly had a perfect 2017/18 season and midfielder Bernardo Silva has acknowledged that one trophy was missing from their cabinet.
Nearly being the keyword for despite blowing everyone out of the water en route to the Premier League and Carabao Cup titles, their continental exploits left a lot to be desired.
“The Champions League is one of the most important – if not the most important – competitions in Europe,” the Portuguese stated at a press conference in the United States ahead of th Sky Blues’ International Champions Cup clash with Liverpool.
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Coincidentally, the last time the sides met was in the UEFA Champions League and the Reds smashed Pep Guardiola’s men 5-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals to end hopes of a treble.
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And Silva was quick to point out the difference in the Premier League and the continental competition.
“It’s a goal for us. We want to try and do better than last season. We know it’s a different competition from the Premier League. In the Premier League, you have to be regular and if you have a bad game, you can recover.”
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City were among the favourites to lift the UEFA Champions League last season and they will undoubtedly be among the contenders for the upcoming campaign as well.
“In the Champions League, you have to focus 100% and if you make mistakes, you’ll be out.”
However, the immediate target for the Citizens will be to beat Liverpool when they face the Reds on Thursday morning (0530 IST).
City travel to London for their Premier League opener, an away clash at Arsenal on August 12 but will battle it out for silverware a week before that at Wembley Stadium.
The Sky Blues will play Chelsea for Community Shield on August 5.
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