Champions League
Guardiola Has No Regrets After Manchester City’s Penalties Loss To Real Madrid
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola showed great sportsmanship in defeat as their hopes for a remarkable second consecutive treble were shattered by a resilient Real Madrid in a Champions League quarter-final match on Wednesday.
Despite dominating the game, the English club succumbed to the 14-time champions Madrid, who triumphed 4-3 in a penalty shootout at Etihad Stadium. This victory secured Madrid’s spot in the semi-finals against Bayern Munich, offering them sweet redemption after City eliminated them in last year’s semi-finals en route to their maiden title.
“Congratulations to Real Madrid, they defend so deep, with incredible solidarity,” Guardiola said. “We did everything. I have no regrets about what we’ve done. Defensively, offensively, we played exceptionally in all departments, in everything, and unfortunately, we couldn’t win, so that’s what it is.”
Having clinched their inaugural treble of Champions League, FA Cup, and Premier League titles last season, the team seemed poised to make history by achieving the same feat in consecutive years
Despite their complete dominance over Madrid, with 33 shots compared to Madrid’s eight and 18 corners to the visitors’ one, Guardiola’s squad couldn’t seal the deal.
Kevin De Bruyne managed to equalize with a goal in the 76th minute after Rodrygo’s 12th-minute strike, but both De Bruyne and City’s prolific goal-scorer Erling Haaland missed several scoring opportunities. The match ended in a 1-1 draw on the night and a 4-4 aggregate score.
City seemed to have the victory within their grasp when Luka Modric missed Madrid’s first penalty kick. However, the tide turned when Bernardo Silva’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, allowing Madrid’s Nacho and Antonio Rudiger to secure the win.
“Pep Guardiola is a gentleman, always has been,” Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti told Movistar. “He congratulated us, wished us good luck and that’s what a real gent does.”
Despite the heartbreaking ending, City fans serenaded the team off the Etihad pitch.
“Football is about scoring goals and from the penalty spot they did it a bit better than us,” Guardiola said. “The performance and the commitment and everything was exceptional. With penalties, you win some, you lose some. For the way we played, we should have done it before. But we did not convert the chances we had. We performed to our best, but it was not good enough.”
City will now shift their attention to their pursuit of another FA Cup title as they prepare to face Chelsea in the semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday.
Asked how he would pick up his players, Guardiola said: “We’ll see tomorrow. Now it’s rest. It’s the semi-final of the FA Cup, we will try to compete the best we can.”
Manchester City currently holds a two-point lead in the Premier League with six games left in the season.
