Madrid (Archyde.com)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has accepted his team’s loss, following a stunning uprising that sent Real Madrid into the Champions League final.
The English team was leading 1-0, until substitute Rodrigo equalized for Real Madrid in the last minute, and then added the second goal a minute later.
Karim Benzema completed the uprising with a penalty in overtime, as Real Madrid won 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu and 6-5 on the aggregate score.
“We were close, we were close, but in the end we failed to reach the final,” Guardiola told BT Sport. “We didn’t play in the first half. We didn’t perform well enough, but we didn’t have problems either. After we scored the goal, we were the better side.” We found our rhythm, and the team played comfortably.”
He added: Real Madrid put many players in the penalty area, with Militao, Rodrygo, Vinicius and Benzema, cross passes and scored two goals. Like this match, we have to accept it.”
The Champions League title is still missing from the treasury of the English team, which won its only continental title in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970.
City were eliminated from the Champions League from the semi-finals once morest Real Madrid in 2016, then from the quarter-finals in 2018 and 2019 once morest local rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively.
The team was eliminated in the quarter-finals in 2020 once morest Olympique Lyonnais, before losing 1-0 in the final last season once morest Chelsea.
“We need to overcome the defeat and return with our fans in the last four games of this season,” said Guardiola, whose team leads the English Premier League by one point.
