Savinho was the difference as Manchester City stumbled into the Champions League knock-out stage in the final 45 minutes of the League Phase.

After that decisive contribution, Savinho has now fired a reality check to his teammates that they should not be in the position of needing a play-off to reach the last-16. He also offered the same assessment of defending Champions Real Madrid, who he confesses represent a 'dream' opponent.

The 20-year-old has had a whirlwind few years since joining City Football Group side Troyes in 2022. He never played for the French outfit, instead spending a year at PSV Eindhoven and a season at Girona before his £33m move to City in the summer.

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This week will be the latest installment in a near-annual rivalry between City and Real, with Savinho recalling the days back in Brazil when he would watch the two giants compete and wish he could be a part of it.

Fast forward three years and Savinho is keen not to waste his opportunity against Los Blancos this week.

"I’ll be fulfilling a dream. I always watched Manchester City vs Real Madrid on the TV back when I was playing for Atlético Mineiro, and now, I get to be here living this moment," he said. "On getting Real Madrid in the draw, there was nowhere to run, it was either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, two great teams, and we got Real Madrid."

But Savinho is clear that this fixture at this stage of the competition reflects badly on both sides, who would both have expected to secure direct passage to the last-16 with a top-eight finish in the League Phase.

“I think we, as Manchester City, can’t play in the play-offs," he said decisively. "We should be getting into the next round more convincingly and not find ourselves in a play-off against Real Madrid – and it’s worth mentioning that Real Madrid, with all the weight their shirt carries, shouldn’t be in the play-offs either, with all due respect to the other teams. So, we have to be very careful in that regard.”

Savinho shares an international dressing room with some of Real's biggest starts - Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Eder Militao and Endrick - and has taken some of their conversations into his preparation for the play-off showdow,n.

“I spoke to Bernardo [Silva] and even to Real Madrid players while on international duty with them, and they said sometimes because of the strength of their badge, let’s say they’re trailing 2-0, 3-0 and the game is not over, they know they can do what they did in the last Champions League campaign at any time – pull off a comeback in the final five minutes of the match.

"So, we must remain focused and score goals when we get the opportunities, as that will be quite important, too. It’s a lesson I learned at Girona: we played really, really well, but we didn’t convert our chances, and when an opportunity presented itself to them, they killed the game off.”

Savinho has kicked on since Christmas to add goals and assists to a promising start, something he admits was bothering him despite such a big change in country, league and language. His blunt criticisms of his own side continues as he points out that City have conceded 'quite a few goals' this season and are 'scoring fewer goals'.

"Normally, the wingers score, and this season, we’re seeing that only [Erling] Haaland is scoring," he added.

"I would like to see not just me, but the whole team in a better position in terms of the overall performance of the team, being higher up the table, doing well in the Champions League."

But for all of his reality checks to teammates, Savinho is also setting high standards himself - insisting that he needs more goals, assists and trophies to be 'remembered' at City.

He said: “Well, it’s not just about numbers, I think a player today needs numbers and titles. Since I’m just starting, I think I need to chase that; otherwise, it’ll just be a normal stint, and I won’t be remembered.

"I came to Manchester City to be remembered, to win titles, to score goals and get numbers, like I said.”