Updated 12 February 2025 at 10:34 IST
'Not Good Enough': Pep Guardiola's Takes The Blame On Himself, Hails Manchester City Players After Losing 3-2 To Real Madrid
Manchester City looked far from their best as they lost the crucial UEFA Champions League clash to Real Madrid by a margin of 3-2
Real Madrid and Manchester City , two heavyweights of European football were set to clash once again in the UEFA Champions League as it was a must win match for both teams if they wanted to stay in the competition. Manchester City and Real Madrid both had a disappointing start to their UEFA Champions League season which left them out of the top 8 and resulted in both teams playing a playoff match against each other to qualify for the round of 16 and the loser getting eliminated from the competition.
Manchester City and Real Madrid faced off and it was Carlo Ancelotti's men who came out on top after a 3-2 win in the first leg of the match.
Real Madrid Beat Manchester City 3-2 In UCL Playoffs
Real Madrid and Manchester City faced off in the first leg of their playoff match with both teams not in the best of forms. Manchester City drew first blood as Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Real Madrid then scored a goals in the 60th minute, thanks to Kylian Mbappe .
In the 80th minute, Man City struck again as Erling Haaland successfully converted a penalty to once again get Man City the lead. Just six minutes later, Brahim Diaz scored for Real Madrid and the game seemed to be headed towards a draw.
In the dying minutes of the match, Jude Bellingham turned out to be Real Madrid's saviour. He ended up scoring in injury time to get Real Madrid the win in the first leg.
Pep Guardiola Speaks Following Real Madrid Loss
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola opened up on his views following Manchester City's 3-2 loss against Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League playoff match.
“It’s not the first time, unfortunately, it happened many times and that’s why it’s difficult. I’ve been here for many years and we have been an extraordinary team. But in the moment I’m not able... I’m not good enough, you know, to give something to (give) composure to the team, to (know) how to manage the situations,” said the Man City manager after the loss.
Real Madrid and Manchester City will meet again in the second leg, next week on 20th February 2025 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid.
Published By : Arihant Rai
Published On: 12 February 2025 at 07:54 IST