Manager Pep Guardiola and his City squad touched down in the Spanish capital in Tuesday afternoon ahead of a game that many have decreed the stand-out tie in the round of 16.
Asked whether in what is his final season at the Club how important it was to win the Champions League, Silva said his colleagues’ desire to succeed in Europe burned as brightly as ever.
But the midfielder insisted the City squad were equally minded not be put too much pressure on themselves ahead of Wednesday’s first leg encounter at the Bernabeu, adding that the key lay in their own approach to the game.
TICKETS | Secure your seat for the Carabao Cup final
CITY+ | Sign up for exclusive content
“(The Champions League) is very important,” stressed Silva at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference in the Spanish capital.
“Not only this season. Before, I wanted to win this competition and we didn’t.
“Playing against Real Madrid and the Champions League are big motivations.
“But we need to be ourselves, play as we’ve been doing the last to years, be aggressive, create chances, control the game. If we do all of that in a great level we can do a great game.
“Will the games be defining? It’s like I said before…. The match it’s going to be important.
“Every game in the Champions League is really important.
“We’ve won the Premier League two years in a row which is very complicated, this season Liverpool are unbeatable, playing really well. Now we need to focus on other competitions.”
DAVID SILVA | Made in Gran Canaria
TICKETS | Watch City v Real Madrid
The tie against the 13 times winners of the Champions League – a European record - is a game that has captured the imagination of the rest of Europe and beyond.
“(Our reaction to hearing the draw) was normal,” Silva added
“The Champions League is difficult. We are here because all the teams are serious. So it (the reaction) was normal.”
