The game was settled by a fine strike from Richarlison in the 38th minute, and Bernardo felt the chance to get something out of the game increased the longer the scoreline stayed at 1-0.
He said, “We kept ourselves in the game after they scored, Maty [Ryan] then made some very good saves and our defence worked very well to ensure we had a chance until the last minute.
“Overall they played better than us so we can’t complain or say it wasn’t a fair result, but we had enough chances to maybe leave the stadium with something more.
“The goal was a great strike from a really good player. Everyone can see the way he controlled the ball and shot towards goal.
“He’s a top striker that plays for the Brazilian national team, so you can’t expect anything less than that. It was a nice goal for them, but not for us.”
The Brazilian spoke in more detail about one of those chances, which fell to Glenn Murray, before he praised Maty for making several fine saves to keep them in the game.
“Glenn is a type of striker that you can always rely on. At any point where you cross the ball, he’s really dangerous, especially in the air.
“We exploited that very well with a good cross from Leo [Trossard] and a good header from Glenn. [Jordan] Pickford is a top-class goalkeeper and made a great save.
“At the other end, Maty is a key player for this team, and that’s not just today. He’s an extremely consistent player and has produced some excellent saves throughout the season.”
Bernardo was also briefly thrown into central midfield from his usual position at left-back for a short spell during the match, and explained he had previous experience from playing in that role during his time in Austria.
“I played in this position in Austria, and in training, Graham tried me in this position a few times. We even had a conversation about it a few weeks ago, where he said he liked what I was doing in that position and asked what I thought about playing there.
“I said I’m here to help and go wherever you need me. I’ll do it without a problem, even though it was only for a few minutes.”