Guardiola Slams Man City’s Lack of Composure in Madrid Collapse
Guardiola Laments Lack of Man City Composure in Madrid Collapse
Pep Guardiola criticized Manchester City’s inability to maintain composure after Real Madrid staged a dramatic 3-2 comeback in their Champions League play-off first leg at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Despite twice taking the lead through Erling Haaland, City was undone by defensive lapses late in the game, with Madrid capitalizing on mistakes to secure a crucial away victory.
City’s collapse in the closing stages marked the latest instance of their struggles to defend leads, with Guardiola highlighting the team’s lack of stability and composure in high-pressure moments. The English champions have now conceded eight times in the final 15 minutes across their last five Champions League fixtures, including costly blows against Feyenoord and Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage.
Guardiola expressed frustration with his side’s inability to control games: “I am not good enough to give the composure to the team to manage this situation,” he said. “The truth is we are not stable enough. It happened many times.”
City had taken the lead twice, with Haaland’s goals either side of Kylian Mbappe’s equalizer for Madrid. However, the late defensive errors ultimately cost them. Ederson mishandled a clearance, parrying Vinicius Junior’s shot into the path of Brahim Diaz, who equalized. Then, Vinicius exploited hesitant defending by Rico Lewis to race clear, setting up Jude Bellingham to tap in from a wayward effort.
“We gave it away ourselves,” Guardiola lamented. “At this level, it’s so difficult. It’s not the first time.”
City’s defensive struggles were compounded by a lack of game management, with defender John Stones admitting that the team needed to be more accountable. “It’s a feeling of anger and frustration,” said Stones. “We need to see games out better. The manager said we need to take accountability for what we do on the pitch.”
Despite dominating much of the game, Madrid’s performance was not without its own issues. Mbappe, Bellingham, and Vinicius were all guilty of wasting opportunities before the late twist. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged his side’s dominance, saying, “It was a very good performance from us. We have to be content with the result, even though we had lots of opportunities.”
The victory was even more impressive given Madrid’s injury crisis. With four key defenders absent, Ancelotti was forced to deploy midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde in the backline, alongside young Raul Asencio. Ancelotti praised the defensive unit, saying, “The four defenders, who never played together before, were able to play a good game because the team worked really well defensively.”
As a result, Real Madrid heads back to the Santiago Bernabeu with the upper hand, leaving Manchester City with a tough challenge to overcome in the second leg on February 19. Guardiola and his players will need to find the composure and defensive stability that has been missing this season if they are to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
Guardiola Slams Man City’s Lack of Composure in Madrid Collapse