- Man City suffered penalty heartbreak against Real Madrid in Champions League
- Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both missed as City lost 4-3 in shoot-out
- Liverpool have been ‘hungover’ since Man United dumped them out of the FA Cup – where has their energy gone? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City have no regrets after Real Madrid wrecked their double Treble dream on Wednesday night.
The City boss, who revealed that both Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland asked to be substituted, lavished praise on his players following the heartbreaking penalty defeat by the 14-time winners.
Guardiola admitted that City weren’t ruthless enough in a quarter-final second leg they dominated and needs to pick his squad up ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea.
‘I have no regrets over what we’ve done,’ Guardiola said. ‘In other sports we would’ve won with our statistics but this is the marvellous thing about football.
‘Johan Cruyff said luck doesn’t exist and I agree with him. We couldn’t score tonight. It hurts but what a fantastic way to lose. We feel bad tonight and we’ll have to lift ourselves.
Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City have no regrets after Champions League exit
Guardiola was left to rue missed chances in the quarter-final second leg tie at the Etihad
Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both missed as Man City lost 4-3 in the shootout
‘What can I say to these players? We needed to show that we were ourselves and that what we did. It’s not been enough, OK.’
Jude Bellingham – who held his nerve in the shootout after Luka Modric’s miss – admitted that Real were relieved to progress given the host’s concerted pressure.
‘It’s so difficult,’ he said. ‘They are continuously probing with the ball and move you around. Most teams would fall apart when City get on top of you but we stood up really well.
‘Our biggest strength is he [Carlo Ancelotti] finds a way to let a lot of boys play with freedom. We’re so off the cuff. As a man he fills you with calmness and confidence. I caught him yawning and he said to go out and excite him.
‘It’s relief. You have to see it as a responsibility not a pressure if you want to play for a team like Real Madrid. It came down to mentality.’
Ancelotti agreed with Bellingham about Real’s fortitude, adding: ‘Guardiola congratulated me and wished me luck. He behaved like a gentleman as always. How do I explain it? This is Madrid. Games like this go with the badge. Madrid never dies.’
