Man City boss Pep Guardiola had his players ripped apart in the Spanish media (Image: Getty)
“worst team” under were fortunate not to be on the end of a thrashing by Real Madrid, the Spanish press have declared. Los Blancos twice came from behind to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory in a dramatic first leg of their play-off tie.
put City ahead twice, only for Real to mount a remarkable comeback. Brahim Diaz appeared to have sealed a 2-2 draw to set up a thrilling second leg, only for Jude Bellingham to snatch a late winner for the visitors.
City will head to the Bernabeu 3-2 down on aggregate but the Spanish press insist the scoreline should have been more comfortable for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Daily newspaper Marca say City have become an “ordinary” side and suggest it is the poorest team during Guardiola’s nine-year reign.
Marca claim there is “no trace” of the City side that dominated English and European football two seasons ago. They insist that the scoreline should have been much larger in favour of Real and blame some of Ancelotti’s players for ensuring that was not the case.
Daily sports newspaper AS provided player ratings for both teams. They rank players from one to three, with three being the highest. In a brutal assessment of ’s performance, AS did not even hand the City captain a grade.
Manuel Akanji suffered the same fate, while Rico Lewis – a half-time substitute – also left AS entirely unimpressed.
Meanwhile, German newspaper BILD carried the headline: “A real revenge for the crude mockery of Vinicius!”
The words referenced a tifo unveiled before kick-off featuring Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or and the words: “Stop crying your heart out.”
Kevin De Bruyne failed to score a rating during Man City’s defeat against Real Madrid (Image: Getty)
Last year, Real boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony after learning that City midfielder Rodri was set to pip Vinicius to the award.
Guardiola cursed his side for making bad decisions in their defeat. ’s penalty had put City ahead in the 80th minute, only for their former prospect Diaz to equalise before Bellingham struck a 92nd-minute winner.
“Many times it [has happened] this season. I know the the quality of Real Madrid. We took the game in the second half and tried to attack too quick. It happens because they are an exceptional team,” Guardiola said.
“It happens many times this season. Bad decisions, that’s all. I take it. It’s not about you and me, it’s everyone. Yeah, that is all season [injuries]. But we know it. Of course now it’s tough. We have to recover. I think now about and then go to the Bernabeu.”