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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had no explanation for yet another late-game collapse as his team lost 3-2 at home to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League playoffs.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (AP)
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his side lacks composure to defend a lead after Real Madrid struck twice late on to snatch a 3-2 win from the first leg of their Champions League play-off.
City have dipped drastically from the high standards they have set during Guardiola’s glorious nine-year reign this season, with the concession of late goals a repeated issue.
The English champions have conceded eight times in the last 15 minutes of their last five Champions League games to also blow leads against Feyenoord and Paris Saint-Germain in the league phase.
This time it is likely to be fatal for their chances of reaching the last 16 as the holders head back to the Santiago Bernabeu in a commanding position for the second leg on February 19.
“I am not good enough to give the composure to the team to manage this situation,” said Guardiola. “The truth is we are not stable enough. It happened many times.”
Erling Haaland had twice given City the lead at the Etihad, either side of Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser for the Spanish giants.
But City were undone by a catalogue of defensive errors to throw away the lead in the closing stages.
Ederson compounded a poor clearance by parrying Vinicius Junior’s shot into the path of Brahim Diaz to equalise.
Vinicius then took advantage of hesitant defending from Rico Lewis to race clear on goal and Jude Bellingham tapped home the Brazilian’s wayward effort into an unguarded goal.
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“After the 2-1, it happened like it happened this season many times against Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, Brentford, Manchester United.
“In the end we gave it away ourselves and at this level it’s so difficult. It’s not the first time.”
However, Guardiola said the responsibility “belongs to all of us, not just the players.
“I don’t have a problem to accept. To blame one specific player, that is ridiculous. It’s all of us, me first. And of course the players as well,” he said.
“They want it, how they run, how they do it, but the truth is we are not stable enough in that (crucial) moment.”
City, who won the Champions League in 2023, and 15-times winners Real both failed to advance automatically to the last 16 as one of the top eight sides in the new Champions League format, with City finishing 22nd to scrape into the playoffs.
The second leg is next Wednesday in Madrid.
(With inputs from Agencies)
