Guardiola admits lack of composure cost Man City against Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola admitted his Manchester City side lacks the composure to defend a lead after Real Madrid scored two late goals to win 3-2 in the first leg of their Uefa Champions League play-off.

City’s tendency to concede late goals has become a recurring problem this season, including blown leads against Feyenoord and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

City have suffered a dip this season, repeatedly conceding late goals. They have now let in eight goals in the final 15 minutes of their last five Champions League matches, also blowing leads against Feyenoord and PSG in the league phase.

Guardiola acknowledged his inability to instil the necessary composure in his team. “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.”

Despite Erling Haaland’s two goals, either side of Kylian Mbappe’s equalizer, City’s defensive errors proved costly. Ederson’s poor clearance led to Brahim Diaz’s equalizer, and hesitant defending allowed Vinicius Junior to set up Jude Bellingham for the winning goal.

“After the 2-1, it happened like it happened this season many times against Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, Brentford, Manchester United,” Guardiola explained.

“In the end, we gave it away ourselves and at this level, it’s so difficult. It’s not the first time.”

City defender John Stones echoed Guardiola’s sentiments, saying the manager called for greater accountability. “It’s a feeling of anger and frustration,” Stones said.

“We need to see games out better. The manager said we need to take accountability for what we do on the pitch. We need to step up when these bad moments happen. Today we had a great opportunity to go to the Bernabeu with a 2-1 lead.”

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti praised his team’s performance, stating, “It was a very good performance from us. We have to be content with the result as well even though we had lots of opportunities.”