Pep Guardiola was understandably disappointed after Manchester City’s shock loss to Real Madrid on Wednesday.
The Sky Blues had one foot in the Champions League final after Riyad Mahrez gave them a two-goal advantage in the second leg in Madrid.
But two late goals from Rodrygo sent the game to extra-time, where Karim Benzema scored the winning goal to book Real’s place in the final.
“We were close. We were close. But in the end we could not reach it,” Guardiola said after the game.
“It is simple. In the first-half we did not have game, we were not good enough. But we did not suffer much. After we scored the goal we were better. We found out tempo and our game and the players were comfortable. It is not like in the last 10 minutes they attack and attack and you suffer.
“It didn’t happen. They put a lot of players in the box, with Militao, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Benzema and they put in crosses and scored two goals.
“We didn’t play our best, but it is normal, a semi-final, the players feel the pressure and wanting to do it. Football is unpredictable, it is a game like this. We have to accept it.
“Now we need to process that and come back, with our people at home and the last four games we have.”
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