Dusted in Europe, Guardiola’s Man City move to Premier League challenge

Manchester City were hurting after their loss to Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Manager Pep Guardiola admitted that ‘no words can help’ ease the pain but the team needs to move on to the Premier League, where they face Newcastle on Sunday. 

City were leading the second-leg vs Carlo Ancelotti’s men 0-1 till the 89th minute. Then came in Rodrygo’s first goal in the 90th. The 21-year-old found the net again a minute later and star striker summed the win with a spot kick in the 95th. Madrid won 3-1 (6-5 on aggregate) at the Santiago Bernabeu. They will face Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the final on May 29. 

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When Guardiola was asked on Friday about his message to the players after the loss, he said, “We didn’t speak. No words can help what we feel. It’s a question of time, try to sleep and think of the targets. Tomorrow we will talk.”

The Etihad camp involved in a cut throat in England. They lead Liverpool by one point. Klopp’s men will play Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. 

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“We’re not thinking about the title, we’re thinking about Newcastle. That’s enough to focus on. Then Wolves, then West Ham. It’s not necessary to listen to what people are saying we can achieve,” Guardiola said. 

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City have won three out of the last four Premier League seasons. However, they are yet to win in Europe. They were defeated by Chelsea in the final last year.

“If people say it’s a failure then I disagree. The people in the squad know how difficult it is. But they accept it. I’m not going to make a debate. In the club the feeling we have is we try to do it again. We are sad, of course, because we were close,” the manager said.