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Actual Madrid’s within the Champions League left Pep Guardiola deeply affected, as was evident throughout his post-match press convention.

His crew had been main 2-1 till the eightieth minute, solely to break down within the ultimate 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 facet.

The Cityzens’ incapacity to take care of focus performed a significant position in Actual Madrid’s victory. Each of Madrid’s late targets got here as a direct results of expensive errors—one from goalkeeper Ederson and one other from younger defender Rico Lewis.

Towards a crew 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 had been extremely crucial of Guardiola and his crew. Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney was one among them, stating that Metropolis confirmed an absence of maturity, significantly within the closing minutes of the sport.

He advised that the gamers appeared uncertain of themselves and didn’t take the mandatory steps to see out the match when main.

“There was a whole lot of naivety on the a part of Manchester Metropolis, particularly on the finish of the sport. The gamers had been one another, nearly not believing in one another, and I believe that’s one thing that worries Guardiola,” he mentioned.

Based on him, a crew in Metropolis’s place ought to have been extra cautious, maintaining possession in secure areas and resetting their construction fairly than permitting Madrid alternatives to strike again.

“Once you’re beating Actual Madrid 2-1 and you’ve got a recreation forward of you on the Bernabeu, it’s a must to say ‘let’s be smart’, 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 in opposition to 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 advised that had the match ended 2-2, there might need been some hope left, however with Madrid now in management, it could take one thing extraordinary for Metropolis to overturn the consequence.

In his view, the boldness in Guardiola’s squad has taken an enormous hit, and whereas the tie just isn’t utterly 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 have to be completely destroyed. It’s nearly completed, not fairly, however nearly,” he mentioned.

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