Pep Guardiola Backs Bernardo Silva After Real Madrid Penalty Miss

Pep doesn’t believe Bernardo Silva’s penalty was the reason behind his side’s UCL exit

The UCL quarterfinal second-leg knock-out encounter of Man City vs Real Madrid proved to be a forgettable one for Pep Guardiola and his player Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder missed a crucial penalty for his side in the penultimate penalty shootout as the English giants crashed out of the Champions League at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

However, Pep Guardiola backed Bernardo Silva when asked about his penalty miss during such a crucial point of the UCL campaign for Man City. The Spanish manager insisted upon the fact that the player decided to take the penalty and also it was his choice to take the way he deemed it to be taken. However, it wasn’t the sole reason for them being knocked out of the competition.

“Bernardo asked to take it, he’s a reliable player and decided to shoot in that way”, Pep reportedly stated.

Pep Guardiola further dwelled upon Silva’s performance in the rest of the match and praised him by signaling that it was one of those nights for his side where they, unfortunately, didn’t get over the line despite playing on the expected front.

“Bernardo, what a game he played. It happens. We did everything. I don’t have any regrets about what we have done”. The City boss also insisted – “We played exceptional in all departments and unfortunately we could not win”.

From the statements of the veteran manager, it can be inferred that despite being saddened by his team’s Champions League exit, he is pretty much aware of the fact that his side was competitive all through the night against Real Madrid and on the balance of the play any of the team could have won it during the later stages of the encounter.

Pep Guardiola inflicted upon how the Man City vs Real Madrid quarter-final clash unfolded

The Man City manager Pep Guardiola reflected on how the game progressed and seemed pretty satisfied with the performance of his team. He also praised the opening goal scored by Jude Bellingham on an important night but was quick to bounce back and hail his team’s attitude in the all-important second-leg quarterfinal clash.

“They scored a great goal with the control of Bellingham”. “We needed to put in a performance that showed we were ourselves, the way that we have been and that’s what we did tonight”.

It may have been a heart-wrenching result for the City fans for the time being but the optimism shown by their manager could further propel them towards their other targets in the ongoing 2023-2024 campaign. The English club would now have to set their eyes on the Premier League title race, alongside the highly anticipated FA Cup semi-final against league rivals Chelsea at Wembley.

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