"I saw only one team today, to be honest" - Manchester City star Rodri makes bold claim after loss to Real Madrid in UCL Q/F clash
Rodri has opined that Manchester City deserved to be in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. City were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing to Real Madrid on penalties at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday (April 17). The regulation and extra time ended in a 1-1 draw, with the Merengues winning the penalty shootout 4-3.
After the game, the Spanish midfielder expressed his disappointment at the Cityzens' elimination but said his team deserved to move to the last four.
"I saw only one team today, to be honest. They defended and they knew how to suffer and we know how tough Real Madrid is. But, in my opinion, we should go through, in terms of chances and everything. It’s the trickiness of the competition. They know how to play, congratulations to them," Rodri said after the game, via Hayters.com.
Real Madrid took over early in the game after Rodrygo's goal (12') but Manchester City did their best to turn things around and tied the game, with Kevin de Bruyne scoring late in regulation (76'). The Spanish giants eventually claimed the victory in the penalty shootout and will now take on Bayern Munich in the semi-finals on April 30 and May 7.
Rodri says Manchester City have 'nothing to regret about' after UCL elimination
Rodri and Manchester City did their best to defend their UEFA Champions League title but came up short, and a new champion will be crowned on June 1.
Still, the Spanish midfielder and one of the Cityzens' leaders said his team has nothing to regret over and suggested that they will need to step up and claim the English Premier League title.
"We have nothing to regret, that’s football sometimes. It shows the trickiness of the competition. It shows how difficult it is to win it, what we did last season. Tomorrow we have to wake up, stand up, because we have too much to play for," Rodri said afterwards, via Hayters.com.
Manchester City are on top of the table with 73 points, two points ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool, who are tied for second place, with six games to go. Arsenal were also eliminated from the UCL on Wednesday, while Liverpool has to overcome an 0-3 deficit against Atalanta to move to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.