Steve McManaman felt Manchester City blew their chance to kill off Real Madrid after the first-leg of their Champions League semifinal.
City will now go to Spain defending a 4-3 aggregate lead.
McManaman, a veteran of both clubs, said: “You never accuse City of being naïve, but they were at times today.
“When they were two-nil up, and three-one up and four-two up, they shouldn’t have let Real Madrid back into the game.
“I don’t know what it was, whether they were overly confident because they were so far ahead. As soon as they went two-nil up, they dropped deep.
“You think to yourself, ‘how has this happened?’ City should have been controlling the game. I still think City will score goals and probably win the game over there, but they’ve given Madrid slim hope.
“We’ve all experienced games where you think it’s easy, but then something happens.
“You can feel the shift changing. Then it’s backs to the walls and you’re wondering, ‘how did this happen?’
“That didn’t happen today once, it happened three times. Two-nil, three-one and four-two. I don’t know why City started dropping off and allowing Madrid to come back onto them.
“Whenever they went forward they dominated so much and made so many chances. You’re thinking to yourself, don’t make a mistake and manage the game.”
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