Pep Guardiola has revealed that Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Manuel Akanji all asked to be substituted before Manchester City were taken to penalties by Real Madrid. Antonio Rudiger struck the decisive blow from 12 yards as the Spanish giants progressed to the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of last year’s winners.
Haaland was hooked at the start of extra time after having a poor game by his own high standards, while De Bruyne was replaced by Mateo Kovacic in the 112th minute despite scoring City’s only goal. Speaking after the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola explained that both players as well as Akanji had asked to be taken off due to fatigue.
“Manu, Erling and Kevin asked me to go out,” said the City boss, who was visibly distraught after Rudiger’s winning penalty condemned his side to a heartbreaking quarter-final exit. “They couldn’t continue.”
Bernardo Silva was among the City players to miss from 12 yards in the shootout, with Kovacic also seeing his effort saved by Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. Some viewers dubbed Silva’s effort the ‘worst penalty ever’ but Guardiola was in no mood to criticise him in the public eye, saying: “He said he wanted to take one and he is a reliable player, but what a game he had.”
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