Guardiola Acknowledges Real Madrid's Worthy Victory Post Champions League Exit
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Synopsis
On February 20, Pep Guardiola reflected on Manchester City's Champions League exit, recognizing Real Madrid's superiority and the lessons to be learned. He emphasized the need for improvement as they prepare for their upcoming Premier League match against Liverpool.
Key Takeaways
- Real Madrid outperformed Manchester City in the Champions League.
- Guardiola acknowledged the need for his team to learn from defeat.
- Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick against City.
- Ruben Dias called for better performance moving forward.
- City faces Liverpool next in the Premier League.
Madrid, Feb 20 (NationPress) The head coach of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, has acknowledged that his team fell short in the Champions League after their elimination by the reigning champions, Real Madrid, and emphasized the need to learn from this defeat.
Manchester City faced an exit from the UEFA Champions League after suffering a 6-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid. Following a 3-2 loss at the Etihad Stadium last week, Guardiola's squad went to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg with a challenging task ahead. However, Carlo Ancelotti's team displayed attacking flair and accuracy, resulting in a 3-1 defeat for Guardiola's men in the second leg, with Kylian Mbappe netting a hat-trick for the current European champions.
This marked the fourth encounter between City and Real in the last four seasons, with City eliminated on penalties last season and triumphing in the previous campaign when they claimed the trophy.
Guardiola extended his congratulations to the 15-time champions for their victory, asserting that Real Madrid truly earned it and that City must glean lessons from the experience. "The best team won; they deserved it. We have had commendable Champions League campaigns in the past, reaching the semi-finals and finals, but this season, we fell short," Guardiola stated, as reported by the Manchester City website.
“I felt that in the previous three years we were superior to them; this time they excelled. They possess the ability to run, maintain prolonged possessions, apply high pressing, demonstrate dynamic movements, and defend effectively. They deserve this win. We must learn from it, accept it, and move forward," the City manager continued.
City's defender Ruben Dias also recognized that the team needed to elevate their performance that night and encouraged the squad to acknowledge the loss while striving for future improvements.
“We were not good enough. We must shake hands and look ahead. There is much to improve on, and we need to do better. Football operates this way," Dias told City TV. "In this moment, the disappointment weighs more heavily than usual because we detest losing. We dislike being in this situation. It’s not merely that we’ve grown accustomed to winning every year; it’s embedded in our mentality and our very essence.
“Thus, it hurts more. We don’t take this lightly. The sole way to improve and to look ahead is to accept what transpired, and today we were not up to par," he concluded.
City will return to Premier League action on Sunday against league leaders Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
