"We had a lot of ambition" - Bernardo Silva insists Manchester City's Club World Cup elimination is just as painful as their exit from UCL

Bernardo Silva expressed his disappointment after Manchester City exited the Club World Cup on Monday, insisting that the defeat was just as painful as their Champions League elimination. City’s hopes of salvaging what was a dismal 2024-25 campaign were dashed following a dramatic 4-3 defeat to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal after 120 minutes of football in Orlando.

Bernardo Silva opened the scoring for Manchester City on the night, but Al-Hilal came out with guns blazing in the second half to overturn the scoreline. Manchester City did not lead the match again before Marcos Leonardo netted the winner in the 112th minute.

Speaking after the game, the Portuguese midfielder reflected on the loss and the mindset of the team heading into the tournament. He said (via The Independent):

“No-one wanted to lose. We are very used to not having holidays, unfortunately, because the schedule is crazy and when we are in a competition we take it very seriously. We had a lot of ambition for this Club World Cup and we wanted to win it.”

When asked if the defeat hurt as much as Champions League elimination, he said:

“Yes, a little bit. Yes.”

The City skipper added:

“There was always a feeling of danger coming from them when they recovered the ball in transition and their counters. We allowed them to run way too many times. But apart from that, we had chances. We scored three goals, and we could have scored five or six. They punished us. They have a good team with a lot of individual quality, and congratulations to them.”

The loss to Al-Hilal means City ended the campaign without silverware for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign, Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge.

“The key of this result are the players” – Simone Inzaghi on Al-Hilal’s win over Manchester City

Al-Hilal boss Simone Inzaghi hailed his players’ determination after they pulled off a shock in the ongoing Club World Cup by defeating Manchester City. Speaking after the match, the Italian manager described the clash as akin to climbing Mount Everest with oxygen. He said (via BBC):

"The key of this result are the players, the heart they put on the pitch. Tonight, we had to do something extraordinary because we knew how good Manchester City are. We knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we were great.

"We played with a strong determination and we are really feeling the game. They deserved it. They fought for every ball and it gives satisfaction to the family of Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia and the fans here with us."

Al-Hilal will face Brazilian side Fluminense in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.