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Even the two masterminds of Real Madrid and Manchester City had to rub their eyes a few times last night. The teams of Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola served up a four-star match to remember. Although both coaches also remain behind with a wry feeling.
Martijn Goethals
“Football is football, the result is the result, but the way we played was truly exceptional,” Pep said after the match. “But maybe the bar has to be set even higher to reach the final. But above all, we will also have to finish the possibilities that we create.”
Perhaps the only working point of the Ciitzens after 90 minutes. “They often didn’t go in, but at least we created them. Anyway, I don’t want to complain about the result and our performance. I am so proud of our competition in front of the world. We played with such courage, with and without the ball.”
“If we had won 2-0 or 3-0, we should have played well there to go through to the final. If we play in Madrid like today after halftime, we will not win. But if we play like in other phases, then we do. We want to put on a show there again. I’m going to tell my players that too, they shouldn’t think about anything else.”
Carlo Ancelotti: “There is no one with Karim’s efficiency”
Carlo Ancelotti is also largely satisfied with the result, but is not blind to the negatives. “It could have been worse. But it depends on how you look at it,” said the Italian. “The match was fantastic, but if you see the glass as half empty, we started very badly. On the other hand, we showed resilience, we scored three times and the door to the final is still completely open.”
And to break that door, Real Madrid has the best player in the world in its ranks, or according to Ancelotti. “I don’t know if he’s going to win the Ballon d’Or, but Karim is definitely the best player in the world right now. There is no one with his qualities and his efficiency.”
