Bernardo Silva believes Manchester City hold a key advantage as they look to keep Cristiano Ronaldo quiet against Manchester United tomorrow.
The two sides meet in the latest instalment of the derby at Old Trafford, with Ronaldo set to make his first United appearance in the fixture since 2009.
And he’ll find himself among some very familiar faces, with tomorrow’s clash having a very Portuguese feel to proceedings.
As well as Ronaldo and Silva, fellow countrymen Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo could all feature, and speaking to ESPN Brazil this week, Silva feels City could benefit from their inside knowledge.
“Knowing the players as well as we know Cristiano and Bruno, of course it helps a lot in the way we mark them, in the way we try to limit their game,” Silva said.
“But that’s the same for us. For Bruno, who knows me very well, it also helps him, for example, in that midfield fight, for us to limit each other.
“It’s going to be a great game. It will be a game that both teams want to win and we will do our best to be the ones to win.”
That inside knowledge could well be the key in keeping Ronaldo quiet, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner posing an obvious threat to City’s chances of claiming a first Premier League win in the derby in five games.
“I think the ease he has to shoot… I think Cristiano is a player who, inside the box, is perhaps the best player of all time,” Silva added.
“Right foot, left foot, head. He’s a player who finishing, maybe there’s no one like him.
“So this part of trying to avoid defending so low, controlling the game with the ball as long as possible because we know that when they have the ball they are a very dangerous team, with players like Cavani or Cristiano in the box, who are players who finish very well.
“So we avoid as much as possible that they reach our last third. Prevent them from having this opportunity to finish the plays because in that they are very strong, of course.”
