'They know' - Bernardo sends message to Man City fans after reaching Champions League final

Bernardo Silva hailed the Manchester City fans for helping to provide the energy that propelled their astonishing destruction of Real Madrid at the Etihad and believes it was fuelled by the frustration and agony of previous Champions League defeats.

City tore into the serial European Cup winners from kick-off on Wednesday night, producing a performance that Bernardo called "amazing", and they were roared on by a raucous atmosphere inside the stadium.

The UEFA anthem was booed before kick-off once again and has there occasionally been some indifference to the competition amongst City's fanbase, but a song about reaching Istanbul was sung regularly during the 4-0 win against Real.

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Winning the Champions League has eluded City under Pep Guardiola, with a defeat in the final to Chelsea two years ago and last season's collapse against Real in the semi-finals fresh in the memory. There have also been agonising defeats to Monaco, Liverpool and Tottenham, but Bernardo believes the fans know how much this competition means to the team and how painful it has been to them as well and that is now pushing the players and the supporters on.

"They were unbelievable. They always are when we need them," he said.

"They know they know how tough it is, this competition, and they know how frustrating it's been over those last few years to not achieve what we want in this competition. They've been with us, they're always with us.

"So massive thank you to them and once again tonight they showed their appreciation for us, for the players, for the staff, for the team, and so we're so happy to give them back this opportunity to be the final. Now hopefully this year