Brighton & Hove Albion defender Bernardo is relishing his first experience of Premier League football at the Amex Stadium when Manchester United visit the south coast on Sunday afternoon.
The Brazilian took to the field in England’s top flight for the first time on Saturday when the Seagulls faced Watford at Vicarage Road, but the full-back insists playing in front of home support will be extra special.
He said, “To make my home debut in the league will be great - the fans and their support make it special.
“The fans are really amazing, the people here in the city are similar to Brazilians and people told me that the people down here are different to others in England.
“People here are very friendly and they have a polite approach to life and the people around them – I don’t know if it’s something in the air, but people are really nice!”
A brace from Roberto Pereyra meant Chris Hughton’s side fell to a 2-0 loss in their first league game of the season at the weekend, and the summer arrival from RB Leipzig reflected openly about the afternoon.
“It was tough at the weekend but it’s not the team we know we can be.
“We didn’t play as we can and we’re much better than that – personally for me I played on the other side of defence for most of the game, so that was different for me.
“I’ve played many times on the right-hand side of defence, so it wasn’t new, but in more recent times I've mainly been on the left.
“The game is different here and there are more duels in the air - I still need to adapt myself.”
The fixture between the two sides at the Amex Stadium last May saw Albion record a 1-0 victory to secure Premier League survival with two games to spare, and Bernardo stressed the importance of embracing the challenge of Jose Mourinho’s side.
“Playing against Manchester United is really exciting – they’re a big side so you know it won’t be easy, but the good part is that you’re in this league to play against those levels.
“In the Premier League results aren’t always as you’d expect and that’s why football is such an amazing sport.
“It’s not like other sports where the favourites always win – different things happen all the time and we have a good team with good players, so anything is possible.”