Midfielder Kevin de Bruyne angrily berated manager Pep Guardiola immediately after losing possession in the Champions League semi-final second leg win against Real Madrid, which Real won 4-0.
At the start of the second half, receiving the ball from Erling Haaland, De Bruyne dribbled the ball instead of passing it to Jack Grealish, and Eder Militao intercepted it. On the touchline, Guardiola was displeased, gesticulating and shouting at his players to pass the ball. De Bruyne immediately turned around, angrily yelling "Shut up, shut up!" before running back to the midfield. Guardiola then walked into the technical area.
De Bruyne disobeyed Guardiola right on the pitch.
In the 84th minute, Guardiola substituted De Bruyne for Phil Foden. The two shook hands, exchanged a few words, and then hugged on the touchline. During his time on the pitch, De Bruyne touched the ball 66 times, completed 71% of his passes with two key passes, had one shot off target, and lost possession 24 times.
After the match, when asked about the controversies with De Bruyne, Guardiola suggested that Man City played somewhat hastily at the start of the second half and should have controlled the ball better. The Spanish coach also pointed out that Ilkay Gundogan lost possession dangerously once, and De Bruyne made three ill-advised runs forward.
De Bruyne and Guardiola made amends on the pitch after the Manchester City manager substituted the Belgian midfielder near the end of the second half of the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium on May 17. Photo: Reuters
"But that's normal. When you're close to winning, you rush. We've paid the price for that before. However, overall, Man City had an extraordinary game," Guardiola expressed.
The 52-year-old coach also expressed pride that Man City showed resilience and composure to overcome the pain of losing to Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final last season. "The pent-up pain from last year's defeat was released today. The way we lost last year was truly cruel. That feeling was like poison, but the whole team had to swallow that poison to come back today," Guardiola said.
Key moments from the Man City 4-0 Real Madrid match.
Guardiola also praised Rodri – the only Man City player to receive a perfect 10 from the Spanish newspaper Marca . "Everyone talks about Haaland, but without Rodri, Man City wouldn't have reached the final," he said. "Rodri has become Man City's best midfielder and had a fantastic season."
By crushing Real Madrid with a 5-1 aggregate score, Man City continues to harbor hopes of winning a treble this season. Guardiola's team will be crowned Premier League champions if they beat Chelsea at home at the Etihad Stadium on May 21st, face Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley on June 3rd, and meet Inter Milan in the Champions League final at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul on June 10th.
Hong Duy
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