Manchester City bowed out of Europe after losing in penalties to Real Madrid. The former champions were trailing by a goal, but a 76th-minute equaliser from Kevin De Bruyne meant that they were back in the tie. Defeating Real Madrid in Europe is never easy, but City were able to do that comfortably last season. However, they ran out of gas this time around as the Los Blancos put on a defensive masterclass to go into their twelfth semi-final appearance in fourteen seasons.
Not a lot of pundits were betting against Manchester City in this Quarter-final fixture. The former champions had not lost a game since December and with the game being played at home, they even had the advantage over Madrid. However, the Spanish side’s aura in the competition is such that even City could not outplay them after 120 minutes of football and a penalty shootout.
During the press conference, Pep Guardiola stated that Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji all asked to be subbed off in extra time. The three aforementioned names are pivotal to City’s gameplan, but Pep had no choice but to replace them. Going into penalties without Haaland and De Bruyne who are both penalty-takers was always going to affect City, especially against a Madrid side, who have players that have been in these situations before. However, this takes nothing away from Real’s goalkeeper Andrey Lunin as he showcased nerves of steel to help the team win the game.
Could the Manchester City players have stayed on for the penalties?
Manchester City have had a gruesome fixture as they have been in the hunt for trophies in all competitions. Just three days after their UCL exit, the treble winners are set to play Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley. This certainly was running in the mind of Pep Guardiola, but he certainly would still not want to remove De Bruyne and Haaland before a potential penalty shootout.
De Bruyne’s substitution came in the 112th minute, if the Belgian could have stayed for 8 more minutes, he would be one of the players who would take a penalty. He scored two goals for City over the two legs against Madrid, but it did not prove to be meaningful as the club failed to make it to the Semis.
Substituting a player with an injury is understood, but players asking to be removed as they are tired raises questions about their mentality. City are one of the best teams in Europe, but they will need to reflect on the decisions made against Madrid. They still have a chance to win trophies this season, but this UCL exit would certainly hurt them.
