Bernardo Silva calls Manchester City's 3-0 loss 'really dark'

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva offered a grim assessment after a bruising 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid, a result defined by Federico Valverde's hat-trick in the first leg of the Champions League round-of-16 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The score leaves Pep Guardiola’s side with a mountain to climb ahead of the return leg at the Etihad.

The scoreline could have been worse had Gianluigi Donnarumma not saved a weak second-half penalty from Vinicius Jr., but the atmosphere around the City camp remained somber and senior figures admitted the path to the quarter-finals now looks treacherous. Reflecting on the result, Silva did not hide his disappointment.

"At 3-0 it makes it a bit more difficult," Bernardo said. "Now it feels really bad, now it feels really dark. But tomorrow is another day and for sure next week we will go to the game thinking we have a chance." He added: "I think my team let emotions change the game.

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