MANCHESTER, England -- The new Premier League season is up and running and Manchester City have already put down a marker as they look to lift the title for the fifth time in six years. While rivals Liverpool stumbled on the opening day against newly-promoted Fulham, Pep Guardiola's champions earned a 2-0 win at West Ham courtesy of two goals from summer signing Erling Haaland.
City again look like the team to beat in England while they are also keen to bounce back from their heart-breaking Champions League exit to Real Madrid in May and win Europe's top club competition for the first time in the club's history. Bernardo Silva has been key to City's success since his arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2017, but with three weeks to go before the transfer deadline, there is speculation he could be tempted by a move to Barcelona.
In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN at the launch of the adidas X speedportal boot he'll wear this season, the Portugal midfielder discusses his future, last season's Champions League disappointment and why he thinks City players still don't get enough credit.
(Editor's Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.)
ESPN: The new season is underway and you had a great start at West Ham on Sunday?
Bernardo Silva: We feel better and better, day by day. Of course, when you come back from holidays, you don't feel as good as when you're in the middle of the season, but the team is growing and getting better and we know we have a tough season ahead of us.
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Dawson: Would be difficult to replace Bernardo Silva at Man City
ESPN: Do you feel refreshed after the summer break and ready to go again?
Yeah, it was a good break. It feels like sometimes, when you're in the middle of the season, you need a few days to get back to your normal levels of energy... so these holidays were really nice for me, for my family, for my friends, but now it's back to work. Usually the breaks are a bit shorter than this summer, and it felt really good to finally have some good holidays where I could travel and be with the people that I love. It was nice.
ESPN: You've won so much already at Man City, including four Premier League titles. How do you maintain that hunger to win more?
We know that in the last five years, we won four titles, but we're a team that wants to look back in 20 or 30 years and wants to be remembered as one of the best in the history of the Premier League. Winning four times in five years is great, but if we can win five in six years, it's even better. We've had some new signings over the past few years, the energy is good and we're still hungry for more.
ESPN: Do you feel that this team has already achieved enough to be considered one of the best the Premier League has ever seen?
I think so, yes, but you always want more, especially when you have the types of players that are hungry for more titles. When you're competitive, you don't want to lose and you feel bad when you do it, so you just want to give all your best every year to try to achieve as much as possible.
ESPN: How big a role does Pep Guardiola play in driving that relentless competitiveness?
He doesn't allow you to have a day off. That's the standard that we have at Man City, and that's why the level has been so high over the past five seasons. Having a manager that demands so much from you puts you on high alert knowing that if you don't give 100%, you're not going to play. Everyone knows that if you want to play, you have to give your best and to show it on the pitch.
ESPN: How do you cope with that level of demand from your manager?
Sometimes it's very tiring and stressful, I won't deny it. But [that's football] at the highest level. If you want to play for a big club like Man City and a club that fights for all the titles, you're going to have this. It's not just Man City -- I believe that in Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, you're going to have this competitiveness around the dressing room because the squad is great and you know if you don't give your best, you have a guy next to you who is just as good as you and is going to take your place.
ESPN: There have been some significant changes to the squad this summer, especially with the arrival of Erling Haaland. Does it feel like there's a fresh energy at the club?
When you have new signings, you never know what's coming. From the weeks we've had with the new players, they are really nice guys, and it looks like they have a hard-working mindset. But it's new. The team is different and they're going to have to adapt, and things are going to be different for all of us. Hopefully better, but we'll see. We'll try to do our best to maintain the level.
ESPN: Are you expecting another battle with Liverpool this season?
It's unpredictable, honestly. Of course, looking at what has happened over the past four or five seasons, you always look at City and Liverpool and you think that they're going to be the two favourites, but look at the team Chelsea is building. Tottenham is getting much better, Arsenal is getting better, Man United have got a new manager and some new signings -- I think personally, they are going to be better as well. It's getting more and more competitive every year.
Of course, City and Liverpool have been on top for the last few years so you're going to expect a bit more from them but you never know in the Premier League. There are six teams that can fight for everything.
