Portuguese attacker Andre Silva, one of the premier marksmen in the German Bundesliga, feels he has it figured out. Finally, the numbers are there. The RB Leipzig striker has seven goals and two assists in 18 league games and three goals and one assist in the Champions League.
At 26, the Portuguese striker has already played for European elites FC Porto, AC Milan and Sevilla before exploding at Eintracht Frankfurt over the past two seasons with 45 goals from 71 appearances. Bundesliga, it would seem, agrees with Silva.
"The biggest difference is the age and experience I have now," Silva said in an interaction with select media on Wednesday.
"I have my way, every player has their own way. I know what I can do and what I need to learn. I am lucky to play here at the Bundesliga at this time and the league is lucky to have me at this time."
His move to RB Leipzig looked a shrewd one from the club who are trying hard to break Bayern Munich's monopoly. But having lost their coach Julian Nagelsmann and key players Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer to the Bavarian giants in the summer, this season has not been easy. Sitting ninth in the table, Leipzig has a big task ahead of them.
"We know what we can do and we always try to aim high and finish in the best possible position. We changed the coach and that changed things a bit. We will take it game by game and try to win as many games as possible," he said, adding that top four is a clear target.
"Everyone has respect for Bayern because they earned that, they worked for that. The biggest players are there in Bayern for a long time and they are always growing and becoming better. We have to work hard and try to be better."
Shifting focus to the international realm, Portugal has their World Cup qualifier against Turkey in March to decide the fate of their World Cup dream.
"It is not a situation we desire. We have two games (Turkey and if they win, the game after) to try to achieve qualification for the World Cup. We are focused on that and we have to give 100 percent and more to achieve this goal," he said.
And the time he gets to train and play with Cristiano Ronaldo is also invaluable.
"I was young when Cristiano was making his own path. All the Portuguese kids saw him and learned. When I started to play with him for the national team, I have had the chance to know him better and learn from him. Last thing he helped me was with freekicks. He told me to change my foot position a bit. He has always tried to help," he added.