Pep Guardiola has rued Manchester City’s missed chance to hold the advantage over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League knockout playoffs, declaring it was not the first time his team had lost from the lead after the 3-2 first leg loss at the Etihad Stadium, Afrosport reports.
Erling Haaland had put the Citizens ahead in the first half only for Kylian Mbappe to level on the hour mark.
Haaland re-established City’s lead from the penalty spot in the 80th minute but the 2023 European champions could not hold to it as Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham scored to turn the tide in Madrid’s favour.
Reflecting on the game, Guardiola said: “But after the 2-1, it happened to resume a little bit this season. So, many games happen.
“Against Feyenoord, against Sporting Lisbon, against Brentford in the Premier League and Man United and many games like at the end we give away [goals].
“So, we give up for ourself and in that level it’s so difficult. It’s not the first time. Unfortunately, it happened many times and that’s why it’s difficult.”
When quizzed on who had to take responsibility for the result, the Catalan tactician added: “It belongs to all of us, it’s not to the players. I don’t have a problem to accept that it doesn’t work like it worked in the past. Not a problem. But it’s all of us.
“For me, it would be easy to blame one player, a specific player or blame whatever. That is ridiculous. That doesn’t work, it’s all of us, me the first.
“Because that’s why I’m here for many years and of course the players as well. This is the truth. And they want it, yes, of course. How they run, how they do it. But the truth is that we are not stable enough in those moments to do the things that they happen. Not today. Today is [not] an exceptional, it happened many times.”
5 – Manchester City have lost five different games in which they’ve led in all competitions this season, as many as they did in 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 combined. Fumbled. #MCIRMA pic.twitter.com/pBjpqp4PMA
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 11, 2025
Meanwhile, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti believes his team have just a slight advantage going into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next week, particularly with away goals rule no longer in place.
“I don’t think so. I think we couldn’t kill the tie off. We’ve taken a small advantage away. It was a good game for us. I think we need to be happy with the result,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of chances in the game, but to be honest City also played a good game. They were good offensively, they created problems for us.
“So, you have to prepare well for the second leg, bearing in mind that it’s a game that gives you a lot of confidence for the next games that we’re going to have.”
The outcome after the second leg will see the winner on aggregate progress into the round of 16 proper where they could face Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.
