'We didn't expect to win...': Pep Guardiola opens up on Manchester City's loss to Real Madrid in UCL

In a thrilling UEFA Champions League quarter-final match, Real Madrid emerged victorious against Manchester City. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, bringing the aggregate score to 4-4. However, Real Madrid clinched a 4-3 win on penalties, securing their spot in the semi-finals. Kevin De Bruyne's 76th-minute goal for Manchester City wasn't enough to secure the win, as Rodrygo's 12th-minute strike for Real Madrid proved crucial. With a staggering 920 passes and 68% possession, Manchester City dominated the game statistically, but Real Madrid's clinical performance ultimately secured their triumph.

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Pep Guardiola does not blame Bernardo Silva’s penalty miss for Manchester City’s UCL exit

Despite Thursday night's heartbreaking loss to Real Madrid at the Etihad, manager Pep Guardiola had no complaints about Manchester City's Champions League exit. Guardiola admitted that the heartbreaking loss in the penalty shootout meant that City's hopes of winning the title were over, even though he was proud of the team's efforts.

After a 1-1 draw on the evening, the game ended 4-4 on aggregate. In the penalty shootout, Real Madrid prevailed 4-3, sealing City's destiny in the most excruciating way.

Even though there was a lot of tension and disappointment at the Etihad, Guardiola wouldn't say that Bernardo Silva's missed penalty was the main reason why City lost. Rather, he stuck by Silva and emphasised the team's overall performance during the competition. Pep Guardiola said: 

 "Bernardo asked to take it, he's a reliable player and decided to shoot in that way," Guardiola said after the game.

"Bernardo, what a game he played. It happens. We did everything. I don't have any regrets about what we have done. We played exceptional in all departments and unfortunately we could not win. It is what it is. It's football. In this competition, that's the way football happens. In other sports, for statistics we would have won but in football it's the marvellous thing about football is this is what happens. The way that we played, the amount of shots that we had, being in there and the transitions we had.

"They scored a great goal with the control of Bellingham and the ball that we put through but we didn't expect to win 4-0 last year and to score four goals. We needed to put in a performance that showed we were ourselves, the way that we've been and that's what we did tonight. We did it in many things. It's not been enough, we're knocked out.