"He has changed the way I see the game" - Manchester City superstar makes incredible Pep Guardiola claim ahead of Real Madrid clash 

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has heaped praise on manager Pep Guardiola ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Wednesday, May 17.

Guardiola has been one of the greatest managers, with successful stints at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City. He has won two UEFA Champions League trophies, three La Liga, Bundesliga, and four Premier League titles, and numerous other honors.

The Spaniard is known for his rigorous tactical and possession-based approach to the game. Speaking about the Manchester City boss, Silva explained how Guardiola keeps changing things and how it helps them learn. He told France Football:

“He’s the manager who I’ve worked the longest with during my career, and he’s a really special coach in his way of seeing football and in his way of always changing things. He’s always thinking."

He added:

"When you win three titles in a season, you might assume that the following season you’ll be playing the same way, but no – he keeps changing things so that the other teams never now how we’re going to develop our style of play. So nobody gets used to how we play. And since he’s changing all the time, every year you learn. He has really changed the way I see the game.”

Silva explained what Guardiola demands from his players in training and on the pitch, as he said:

“[It was difficult] at the start, but after one or two seasons you get what he wants. The foundations are there. Every player who’s been with him for more than one season will understand. Sometimes, he gets to training and he’s calm. He lets us train."

He continued:

"Another time, he showed up and killed us: You are tired? I don’t care, you need to run and work hard. He asks a lot from us. During games, but also during training. Everyone needs to be concentrated, and if he feels you’re not at 100%, you’re not going to play.”

The Manchester City midfielder further added that Guardiola likes his players to play a simple game. Silva gave his own and Riyad Mahrez's example, saying:

"[The hardest thing] is that he goes into a lot of detail. So you change the way you approach your style of play. Back at Monaco, I was more of a dribbler than I am now. So was Riyad [Mahrez] at Leicester. We all play in a more simple way."

He added:

"Obviously you need to know how to dribble and shoot, but being able to play in a simple way, for Pep, is the most important thing. If you want playing time under him, you need to be able to do that. One touch, two touches. You play for the team, otherwise you’re not playing.”

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Manchester City host Real Madrid as they look to reach UCL final

Manchester City and Real Madrid played out a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu last week in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Vinicius Jr. opened the scoring for Real Madrid with an excellent strike before Kevin de Bruyne equalized for the visitors.

Manchester City will now host Real Madrid on Wednesday as they look to make it to the final of the competition and eventually win their maiden UCL trophy. They will also hope to get one over Real Madrid after the Spanish side beat them in the semi-finals last season.

The winner will face Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul. The Italian side beat city rivals AC Milan 3-0 over two legs to reach their first final since 2010.