flag
back Back
Pep Guardiola hails his players after dramatic defeat by Real Madrid... as Man City boss says they must lift themselves for FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea
  • 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 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
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
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
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.’

You may like

Raheem Sterling had his ‘payslip’ leaked after ‘leaving in his car at a garage

sportbible.com 2 days ago

Chelsea star Cole Palmer warned over Arsenal transfer and sent clear instruction

football.london 2 days ago

Manchester City face Premier League title race blow that could hand upper hand to Arsenal

football.london 4 hours ago

Thiago Silva's wife posted restaurant bill to show how much footballers spend after a match

sportbible.com 20 hours ago

Harry Kane makes Bundesliga history with Bayern Munich that may never be repeated

sportbible.com 2 days ago

£26m Arsenal gem determined to leave, he does not want to work with Mikel Arteta

arsenalinsider.com 17 hours ago

Emmanuel Adebayor admits he's 'not a fan' of in-form Arsenal star as he issues title warning

mirror.co.uk an hour ago

‘Very sad…’ Ian Wright reacts to news coming out of Chelsea

tbrfootball.com 14 hours ago