Pep Guardiola breaks silence after Real Madrid dumped Manchester City from the Champions League

Pep Guardiola breaks silence after Real Madrid dumped Manchester City from the Champions League

Fred Kennedy
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:01 PM
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  • Pep Guardiola has claimed that football is unpredictable following Manchester City's elimination from the Champions League
  • City came close to qualifying for the final before Real Madrid scored three quickfire goals to qualify for the final at the expense of the EPL side
  • Guardiola's men will now have to turn their focus to the Premier League where they will be looking to retain the title

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has broken his silence after his side's heartbreaking elimination from the Champions League.

Guardiola was hoping to lead City to another final in the European football tournament only to be dumped out by Real Madrid in the semi-final.

Pep Guardiola reacts during the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final Leg Two match between Real Madrid and Manchester City at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Photo by Jose Breton.
Pep Guardiola reacts during the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final Leg Two match between Real Madrid and Manchester City at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Photo by Jose Breton.
Source: Getty Images

The Citizens won 4-3 in the first leg of the tie played at the Etihad Stadium - but suffered a 3-1 defeat in the return leg at Santiago Bernabeu.

Rodrygo, Benzema fire Real Madrid to the final

The defeat in Spain denied the Premier League any chance of progressing to the final as Los Blancos booked their place in the final on a 6-5 goal aggregate.

Despite taking a two-goal advantage courtesy of Riyad Mahrez's goal in the 73rd minute of the match, Real staged a dramatic comeback in the closing stages of the encounter to win the tie.

Rodrygo netted twice at the death before Karim Benzema fired the winner in extra time from the penalty spot.

Pep Guardiola reacts to Man City's elimination from the Champions League

Guardiola has now reacted to his side's exit from the competition, claiming that "football is unpredictable."

"We were close. But at the end we could not reach it," Metro UK quoted Guardiola saying after the match.
"We didn’t suffer much but we didn’t play our best but this is normal. We were close. Football is unpredictable and sometimes you have to accept it," he added.
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Fred Kennedy
Fred Kennedy has a Bachelor's degree in journalism (Daystar University), currently working as a Sports Editor. He has more than five years of experience in digital journalism.
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Carlo AncelottiPep Guardiola