Man City Manager disappointed with narrow victory over Real Madrid
Man City Manager Pep Guardiola reflects on Manchester City's thrilling 4-3 victory over Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final first leg, saying the result could have been better.
Man City will now prep for Bernabeu after a narrow victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.
City delivered a magnificent display as they peppered Real's goal for long periods, winning the seven-goal first-leg classic at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin de Bruyne set the tone for a magical night of football with a diving header from Riyad Mahrez's cross in the second minute.
Mahrez enraged manager Pep Guardiola when he hit the side-netting instead of finding the unmarked Phil Foden.
Guardiola said: “The result could have been better. It’s Madrid. It doesn’t matter with 1-0 up or two or three, you have to perform really well in the games. You perform really well in the first game, you have to do really well in the next one. It’s a good test to show our personality as a team and we’re going to travel to win the game.”
The Spanish side escaped again shortly after the break when Mahrez struck the post but City restored their two-goal advantage when an unmarked Foden headed home Fernandinho's cross in the 53rd minute.
However, brilliant use of advantage from the referee allowed City to fire into the top-left corner for their fourth goal in the 4-3 victory.
The Champions League final will be held at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday, 28 May.
(BBC Sport)
