Since Rodrygo opened the scoring in the eleventh minute, Manchester City took control. He dominated the duel, had the best chances, but in the end he was eliminated. De Bruyne equalized the tie in the second half following a good action by Doku on the left wing, but the celestial insistence was not enough to eliminate Real Madrid. The whites, following the failures of Bernardo and Kovacic, were the ones who reached the semifinals of the Champions League. After the tie, Guardiola said he was proud of the performance of his players. That they mightn’t do anything else once morest Ancelotti’s team, which will face Bayern Munich in the next round.
Ancelotti said this is the only way to beat City: “What praise! Congratulate Madrid. It is not a question of justice or injustice. We were not able to score another goal. As a coach you think regarding creating more and being believed less, but sometimes it is not enough. Nothing to reproach. “They are in the semifinals and we are not.”
Is there another way to win this match?: “I don’t know. When we play Madrid once more we will see. We have to have finesse in the last meters. In the last games we have played here we have been at a very high level. At 4-3 and 4-0 we dominated, today too. But we failed to score.”
Is there anything you regret regarding the match? Would you prefer to have done something differently?: “I would prefer to have won. It’s time to congratulate Real Madrid, they defended from far back and with incredible solidarity. I don’t have any regrets. We always try to create more chances and create few. We did it all. In defense and in attack. Aside from two or three transitions, we played exceptionally well in all aspects, but unfortunately we mightn’t win.”
Don’t you regret taking out Haaland and De Bruyne?: “They asked me to take them out, they mightn’t continue.”
Was it more painful to lose on penalties?: “It is what it is. We should have won because of the way we played. Everyone was at their highest level. To beat Madrid you have to be at the best level. We were there, but it wasn’t enough.”
Did your team lack luck?: “Luck does not exist, as Cruyff said. We haven’t scored a goal. We have done everything except score. Losing like that hurts. Although at the same time it’s awesome. Today we are bad, and tomorrow too. You can’t always win, but we have tried and we have done well. We showed our personality once morest Madrid and I don’t know what else we might have done. “We lost on penalties 4-3, that’s what we were missing.”
How can you explain Madrid’s victory?: “It’s football. Maybe in another sport we would have won, but football is wonderful for these things. We might only play as we have done, shoot on goal, make good transitions… We were not asking to win 4-0, just be ourselves and show our personality. We have done that, but it has not been enough. We are out. We should have scored earlier. But penalties are what happens… all that remains is to congratulate Madrid for their ability to defend and resist. “They have done very well and we have not been able to score a goal.”
Are the confrontations between City and Madrid the best in Europe?: “People have certainly enjoyed it. Surely the Madridistas will be happier than anyone else. We got a good result at the Bernabéu, but today we mightn’t qualify. It was not enough. Madrid was able to hold on. We always find a way to break such iron defenses, but today we were missing something. “We just have to accept it.”
How can he morally recover his players before the next game?: “Tomorrow we will see. Now we can only rest, tomorrow we will return. On Friday we travel to London, we will see. Maybe then we’ll see how people react. Winning will make recovering easier, but it is an FA Cup semi-final and we should be prepared.”
Guardiola, on TNT Sports: “We should have scored earlier…”
Pep Guardiola also attended the microphones of TNT Sport, the television that broadcasts the Champions League in the United Kingdom. These were his responses regarding the meeting.
Analysis of the match: “We did everything and we did it better than well, in all aspects. We played incredibly well and we mightn’t win. Congratulations to Real Madrid. So are the things. We should have scored earlier and unfortunately we didn’t. The defense did great with transitions and we controlled them. We have created everything, but unfortunately we mightn’t win.”
Which defense was better? “We defended better than them, we conceded fewer chances than them. We defended better than them, for sure.”
Created opportunities: “You try to create the maximum opportunities and get the minimum opportunities. That’s football. We tested it. “We created a lot of chances and we mightn’t win from the penalty spot.”
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The Manchester City coach also appeared on North American CBS. “We are out. We lost on penalties. We played a more than excellent game, but this is what it is. They won. What can I say? The game is there. We did everything in terms of commitment, way of playing… We were incredible, but the result dictates. They are in the semifinals and we are not. We have to be proud and stand up,” he explained.
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