Around 300 Real Madrid fans left the Santiago Bernabeu before the hosts staged an incredible comeback triumph against Manchester City on Wednesday night, according to reports in Spain. Supporters were filmed in despair and disbelief outside the stadium’s gates as Real roared in the dying embers of an all-time classic Champions League semi-final tie.
Marca claim the wave of fans departed the Bernabeu around the 88-minute mark in acceptance that Pep Guardiola had guided his side to back-to-back Champions League finals. And after attempting to return to their seats after Rodrygo incredibly restored hope from the bench, they were denied re-entry.
Riyad Mahrez netted a dagger of a finish past Thibaut Courtois to fire the visitors 1-0 ahead of the night and extend their aggregate lead to 5-3. However, Rodrygo, who replaced Toni Kroos on 68 minutes, netted twice in as many stoppage-time minutes to force the clash into extra-time.
And after Man City failed to regain their momentum, Karim Benzema smashed the La Liga champions ahead for the first time in the entire tie from the spot just five minutes in. The Bernabeu erupted, and the full-time scenes across the stands were a sight to behold, but plenty were left with a bittersweet feeling outside the famous walls.
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After suffering another late heartbreak in the competition that he craves to win as Man City boss, Guardiola accepted his side wasn’t good enough for too much of the game. The Catalan coach has stressed their full focus is now on the Premier League to prevent a catastrophic end to the season.
“We were close,” Guardiola told BT Sport. “We were close, but in the end, we could not reach the final. It’s simple, in the first half, we didn’t have game. We were not good enough, but we didn’t suffer much – when we scored, we were better. He added: “The players are sad, definitely. We were close to reaching the final of the Champions League. Now we need time to process it and come back with the last four games.”
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