Actual Madrid’s within the Champions League left Pep Guardiola deeply affected, as was evident throughout his post-match press convention.
His group had been main 2-1 till the eightieth minute, solely to break down within the last phases of the sport. This sort of late-game failure has been a recurring theme in what has turned out to be a extremely disappointing season for the English aspect.
The Cityzens’ incapability to keep up focus performed a serious function in Actual Madrid’s victory. Each of Madrid’s late objectives got here as a direct results of expensive errors—one from goalkeeper Ederson and one other from younger defender Rico Lewis.
In opposition to a group like Madrid, such errors not often go unpunished, particularly within the Champions League, the place they’ve constructed a popularity for capitalising on their opponents’ weaknesses.
Wayne Rooney’s response
Following the match, a number of English soccer legends have been extremely vital of Guardiola and his group. Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney was certainly one of them, declaring that Metropolis confirmed a scarcity of maturity, significantly within the closing minutes of the sport.
He urged that the gamers appeared uncertain of themselves and didn’t take the required steps to see out the match when main.
“There was numerous naivety on the a part of Manchester Metropolis, particularly on the finish of the sport. The gamers have been one another, virtually not believing in one another, and I feel that’s one thing that worries Guardiola,” he mentioned.
In keeping with him, a group in Metropolis’s place ought to have been extra cautious, conserving possession in secure areas and resetting their construction fairly than permitting Madrid alternatives to strike again.
“Whenever you’re beating Actual Madrid 2-1 and you’ve got a sport forward of you on the Bernabeu, it’s a must to say ‘let’s be wise’, allow them to have the ball of their half, reset,” he added.
Reward for Ancelotti
Rooney additionally highlighted how spectacular Madrid’s victory was, given the defensive disaster they confronted heading into the match.
Carlo Ancelotti needed to make do with out a number of key defenders, together with Eder Militao, David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Dani Carvajal, and Lucas Vazquez.
Regardless of these absences, Madrid managed to carry their very own towards Metropolis’s harmful attacking gamers, together with Erling Haaland, which made their comeback much more outstanding.
Alan Shearer’s take
One other English soccer legend, Alan Shearer, additionally shared his doubts about Metropolis’s possibilities of turning the tie round.
He urged that had the match ended 2-2, there may need been some hope left, however with Madrid now in management, it could take one thing extraordinary for Metropolis to overturn the outcome.
In his view, the arrogance in Guardiola’s squad has taken an enormous hit, and whereas the tie isn’t fully over, Madrid now have a transparent benefit going into the second leg on the Santiago Bernabeu.
“With a 2-2 win, there would nonetheless be hope, however it could be an absolute miracle if Actual Madrid didn’t undergo now. Manchester Metropolis’s confidence should be completely destroyed. It’s virtually completed, not fairly, however virtually,” he mentioned.
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