Manchester City's Champions League hopes ended in disappointment as they were knocked out by Real Madrid in midweek, with Bernardo Silva sent off for a handball on the goal line. The 10-man side could not mount a comeback, and the defeat has reignited debate over whether Pep Guardiola's team should have achieved more than their solitary 2023 triumph in Europe.
Guardiola defended his record, noting that Real Madrid are the only team to retain the Champions League since 1990 and have won only 15 of their 100 attempts. The manager has three Champions League victories, second only to Carlo Ancelotti, and pointed to City's previous painful exits—including the 2021 final loss to Chelsea and semi-final defeats by Tottenham in 2019 and Real in 2022.
Midfielder Bernardo Silva, who is widely expected to leave the club in the summer, was more critical. Speaking before the second leg, he said: 'With the team that we have and the way our team has played in the past, we should have won more.' The 31-year-old acknowledged that one victory is better than none but expressed dissatisfaction with the club's European record.
Real Madrid, who advanced, have dominated the competition in recent years, winning five of the last 10 editions. Guardiola referenced the 'unfair' 4-3 defeat in the first leg as one of the worst results of his career, while insisting that failure is subjective given the challenges of elite European football.
