Fernandinho calls for City statement against Bayern

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho wants Manchester City to make a statement by beating Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.

The sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, with the Premier League outfit have failed to progress from the group stages in their past two Champions League campaigns.

However, Manuel Pellegrini’s men started this season’s Champions League with a 3-0 win away to Viktoria Plzen and Fernandinho has targeted victory against the current European and German champions.

“Last season, Bayern Munich were the team that played the best football and they became European champions, so if you beat them, people on the outside will notice,” he told The Telegraph.

“It would be a huge statement to the football world if we could beat the best team in Europe, one of the best teams in the world.

“The projection would be much higher than beating (Manchester) United. That is why a win for us would be so important.”

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ent out a message to their Premier League rivals with a 4-1 win over champions Manchester United before suffering their second domestic defeat of the season following a 3-2 loss against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Fernandinho added: “The United match was all about playing your local rival. It was a derby and you always want to beat your neighbours, so the atmosphere is different for the players, manager, directors, supporters – everybody. It is different from a normal game.

“You don’t play against United and picture them as the champions, you just regard them as your local rivals. The game against Bayern Munich is different, they are the best around.”

Bayern also got their Champions League campaign under way with a 3-0 win, overcoming CSKA Moscow at the Allianz Arena.