Speechless. That would be one of many words to describe last night’s fantastic Champions League encounter between Manchester City and Real. Surely one of the best semi-finals in this competition in years ended with a narrow 4-3 win for the home team, which is basically no advantage at all ahead of the second leg, which is to be played in Madrid on Wednesday 4th of May. And one who was frustrated by the result and went berserk on the sidelines was City’s boss Pep Guardiola.3 – Manchester City have won each of their last three Champions League meetings with Real Madrid – no other English club has won more than two matches overall against Real in the competition. Ascendant. pic.twitter.com/zT1glQI8NI— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 26, 2022 He was visibly the most frustrated man on the field, and for a reason: The Citizens led by two goals after only 11 minutes and had a chance for the third before Real scored its first goal of the night. City increased the difference to two goals two times more (3-1 and 4-2) before Real’s Benzema scored a magnificent penalty in the 82nd minute for the final score. And it didn’t sit well with Pep at all. The Spaniard was recorded as he let out his frustration in a series of non-verbal communication gestures, mostly when his team conceded a goal or missed a sitter. And let’s see them all.Pep Guardiola was FURIOUS with Riyad Mahrez 😨 pic.twitter.com/3eFHvVCiLv— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) April 26, 2022 Pep goes mental part 1 – Mahrez missRiyad Mahrez is one of Guardiola’s favorite players and a first-team regular on the right side. He was given an advantage over Sterling in this match, but after this situation in the first half, he may suffer the consequences. One of the key moments of the game was when City had a counterattack and a possibility to score their third goal and seal the game, but the Tunisian international decided to shoot instead of crossing to the unmarked Phil Foden. He missed and Pep went ballistic.Pep Guardiola’s reaction to Vinicius’s dummy 🤣 pic.twitter.com/LVv64SjFh2— S. (@utdz0ne) April 26, 2022 Pep goes mental part 2 – Vinicius goalAnother situation that left Guardiola frustrated was the second Real goal. After leading 3-1, courtesy of Foden’s goal, Vinicius Junior replied almost immediately, and Real’s forward brilliantly turned Fernandinho before making an unstoppable run on goal. Guardiola saw it coming and was so sad in the end.La réaction de Guardiola sur le pénalty de Benzema. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/8qd8ooZR4x— PLFrance_ 🇫🇷 (@PLFrance_) April 26, 2022 Pep goes mental part 3 – Benzema’s penaltyAnother situation when Guardiola was speechless was the second Real goal after City again had a two-goal lead. Benzema came in to convert a penalty and he did a cheeky ’Panenka’ to the disbelief of the whole stadium, the Spaniard included. Carlo Ancelotti on what makes Real Madrid unique: “We have players with a lot of experience. When the moment is difficult they don’t lose their heads. It’s a characteristic of this team, which has played many games like this and never gives up. The head stays cold.” pic.twitter.com/h0JPOLwtCG— Alan Feehely (@azulfeehely) April 27, 2022 Asked to talk about the game and the missed chance, Guardiola appeared to be calmer than during the game.“The result is what it is. We won, we are going to rest, then play Leeds and travel to Spain next week. To win this competition, from my small experience, you have to overcome situations like football gives in front of you. The result could be better, but Madrid is always Madrid. It doesn’t matter if 1-0 up or two or three, you have to perform really well two games. We miss chances but we create them. We were there all the time. We were there. Listen, not one complaint about the result, the performance, anything. We did everything to win and with courage”.
